whole grain mustard

Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

January 13, 2018 by Dana

Hello! Welcome to my first post in 2018, and my first post under a brand spankin’ new name! This Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken is the perfect way to start off the new year, but first….

What gives on the name change!?!?!

I’m ready to drop a few truth bombs right now, and it may not be pretty but it is genuine and it is me. I was struggling with the name 3boysunprocessed. Struggling for a very long time. In 2018 one of my goals was to make this blog a more comprehensive look at my life. To do that I desperately needed to change the name and break out of the box of unprocessed eating.

Four years ago, my life was completely different! When I started this blog, I was so passionate about cooking with the least processed ingredients. What you saw was what I was feeding my family. It was fun to me then, it was my own little project that I loved and babied. It grew my love for photography, it gave me a reason to talk about my children and document my life, and it was great. I was stunned when people actually cared. But then….

Life happened. My husband started a new career that took him on the road and away from home 5 days a week, we had another baby (and have another on the way now), I started a photography business, and my wee little babes who would eat anything suddenly didn’t want my whole wheat macaroni and honey sweetened delicious treats anymore. Things were different, my family was growing and changing, and my blog needed to reflect that.

Life can be extremely busy at times. Every time I thought to myself that I’d like to post a new recipe, I realized that it may not fit into the unprocessed box I had put myself into. I want to share my love for food here, and ultimately I have to be true and honest that this is not how I cook anymore. Of course, I am still cooking fresh, homemade meals for my family. However I’ve stopped stressing over certain ingredients such as white pasta and cane sugar. My sanity needed a break from hyper obsessing over my kids going to a birthday party and eating a hotdog bun. So I let go a little, and it feels great!

Looking into 2018, I’m really ready to share more stories about life, my family, my cooking, my Lipsense business, my love for photography, and so much more! I absolutely love looking back at all of my posts from when my boys were all super tiny, and I want to keep sharing the special little details without the stress of being in any kind of box. Cheers to 2018!

Now that the cat is out of the bag, shall we move on to this Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken? It is oozing with delicious Asian inspired flavors, simple ingredients, and my latest pregnancy craving… Jasmine Rice and soy sauce! It combines a few simple ingredients to check off every box on the BEST CHICKEN EVER list… sweet, salty, perfectly crunchy, and smothered in a delicious and easy to make sauce.

THIS IS CHICKEN HEAVEN.

The Recipe

One of my favorite way to make takeout inspired chicken is to dip it in egg, coat it with cornstarch, and then cook it on the stovetop. It gives a deep fried texture without actually deep frying or ordering takeout from a place that may or may not be using trans fats to fry their food. I love me some Panda Express, but I hate the way I feel after eating mystery ingredients. This is the perfect way to make it at home and know exactly what you are eating.

The most important step when cooking this Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken is to make sure your meat is properly seasoned. Don’t forget to season your chicken before you bread it. I always use coarse Kosher salt to season meats, it has never let me down! A sprinkle over all of your chicken chunks will work wonders.

Coating the chicken is easy, but can be messy! One thing I learned while working in restaurants and coating millions of pieces of chicken is to get everything where you need it before you start, and use one hand to dip and the other to coat. No matter how bad you want to just go right from the egg to the cornstarch with the same hand… DON’T DO IT or your hands will be a hot mess.

The sauce is super easy to put together! Cook the garlic, then add the rest of the ingredients and viola! It is super versatile, so if you like it a little more sweet, add more honey. If you like it a little more salty, add more soy sauce! If you don’t have whole grain mustard, use dijon! The sky is the limit here, this is really just a base recipe.

Also, apparently is is really easy to burn Jasmine rice. That is all I’m going to say about that. HAHA

Honey Mustard Baked Salmon

August 10, 2015 by Dana

Ahhhh… what a beautiful piece of Salmon! Not only is this salmon beautiful, it is SO TASTY and SO EASY!

I grabbed inspiration for this recipe from my Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken recipe because the flavor combo in that recipe is just spot on! I can easily say it is one of my all time favorite Crockpot recipes, so if you haven’t checked that recipe out yet it might be time to do that. 🙂 I’m telling you… you won’t be disappointed and seriously… does it get any easier?

Speaking of easy, there are a few consistent questions/comments I expect from people I chat with regarding cutting processed foods:

Isn’t it really time consuming? I just don’t have any time in my busy schedule for cooking!
Isn’t it really expensive? I just can’t afford to eat like that!
How do you get your kids to eat like that? I just know my kids would never touch that food!

This recipe really addressed the first point… Isn’t it really time consuming to cut processed foods? Do I spend my entire day in the kitchen just to make sure my family isn’t consuming a bunch of processed crap? In short… the answer is no. I absolutely do not spend a ridiculous amount of time in my kitchen everyday, and on days that I do it is because I have chosen to (I can get cooking ADHD at times). When I feel like I’ve spent a long time in the kitchen I usually plan the next day to spend almost NO time in the kitchen. This is exactly when I pull out recipes like this Honey Mustard Baked Salmon that take less than 5 minutes to prepare + baking time (that I spend preparing a side). If you kind of hate cooking, or you really are super busy and just don’t have a ton of time to spend preparing meals then this recipe is your solution. Mix 3 ingredients, pour over salmon, wrap in foil… viola!

Greek Kale and Orzo Salad

January 13, 2015 by Dana

New Year, New You? Right? 🙂

Here we are… two weeks into the new year and I’m wondering who is still sticking to their “let’s get healthy” resolution? If you’ve fallen off the resolution train already, don’t worry! One calendar day means nothing, however a new attitude about food means everything! Forgetting about that mark on your calendar might be the best “should-have-been resolution” out there because every day is a new day to change how you eat. Every grocery store trip, every meal is a new chance to check ingredient lists and care about what you are putting into your body. Yes, there are times when I eat things that I know aren’t in the game plan, but I don’t dwell on it for too long because I have new meals coming up that can and will be healthy.

I have to start this with a story about my mom. She’s been on diet after diet after diet her whole life and I think she might be beginning to understand that she NEEDS to check ingredient lists for everything. It doesn’t matter if it says “light” or “natural” because chances are it probably isn’t. She was telling me all about her new eating plan, yet mentioned she was still using a bottled dressing. Now, don’t get me wrong, we are all going to fall short somewhere. If 95% of your diet consists of unprocessed foods, then you are doing really great! However, bottled dressings just make me want to throw something. They are so counterproductive it is just upsetting. Big pile of delicious veggies? Here, let’s pour some unhealthy GMO soybean oil and MSG on it! Unhealthy fats, gimmicky lies on the front of the bottles, addictive ingredients, tons of sodium, artificial colors, preservatives, I mean I could write a book about this crap.

At the end of the conversation I told my mom “Listen.. it is all about seasoning your food. Even if it is a salad it needs salt and pepper. Olive oil, vinegar, spices, salt, pepper. That’s all it takes to make your own dressing that you will love to eat. But the key ingredients are salt and pepper. Nobody wants to eat food that is bland, and this is the key to making your own dressing that actually tastes good. TRUTH! 🙂

Other then the obvious health benefits kale is an awesome green to use in make ahead salads because it doesn’t wilt. That’s right, you can dress this salad the night before and you will still have a crisp and fresh green to take for lunch or enjoy at home. Kale can be a little rougher then spinach/romaine so I’d suggest chopping you kale thinly.

Chicken Minestrone Soup

December 10, 2014 by Dana

Can I just puuurrrty please dive head first into this pot on a cold, sleeting/freezing rain/snowy day and hibernate there until May? PLEASE?????? Ok, maybe that’s what I’ll be asking Santa for this year!

Confession: most of this soup never even made it to leftover land. It was supposed to, that was the plan. Tomorrow is my husband’s Holiday work party and the kids need a dinner. A big pot of soup is perfect, I said. It will last until the end of the week, I said. This is totally the last bite, I said. Then I lost all self control and kept coming back for more. Where did my self control go again?

Oh that’s right, my self control flew right out the window when I realized how delicious and nutritious this soup was. One more bite because it contains veggies, and then another because Hello! Whole Grains are good for you! And then just one more for the spinach! And the tomatoes! And the ground chicken is lean! And come on, one more because it looks pretty! Ok, heck just dump the whole pot in my mouth, please.

Then all of a sudden I’m all like…honey did you eat all the soup? 🙂

This soup all started when I was at Wegman’s today and saw the organic ground chicken on sale. I kept thinking back to a few years ago when I tried to use ground chicken for tacos and it was a complete disaster. We basically just threw a TON of cheese on top and gagged it down because it had a really odd texture and was just plain awful. I used to use ground turkey quite a bit, so I thought ground chicken would be similar but in truth it really isn’t the same at all.

Today was the first time since the taco debacle that I even considered purchasing ground chicken again and I’m so glad I did! Sometimes I get so sick of using the same meats over and over again, so I thought heck, why not give it another go. I’m a much, much better cook now and I was confident I could doctor it up to make something super yummy out of it. Immediately I thought SOUP, so I went with it. I was really surprised how awesome it turned out, so I just had to share for all those ground chicken doubters out there like myself.

So what made it different then the awful tacos? Well 1) I wasn’t using a seasoning packet that contains an array of random crap added because we just don’t get down with Ortega like that anymore! Then 2) There are so many other flavors going on, and everything kind of blends together to create an overall great taste. Basically what I’m saying is that I was totally wrong for all this time and I used to be a horrible cook! 🙂

*I usually use my own chicken stock, but in a pinch today I found this organic free range Pacific stock that does not contain any added MSG/Yeast Extract. If you don’ t have any homemade stock on hand, I highly recommend checking out this product.
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Bacon and Mustard Asparagus

November 30, 2014 by Dana

Bacon. Mustard. Asparagus. Hello, I’m so glad we’ve met! I’m so glad me and my *asparagus loving* one year old just devoured a whole bunch of asparagus together, covered in whole grain mustard and bacon. Ok, I’m the only one who ate the bacon, because salt-fest 5,000 isn’t exactly a good idea for a one year old. Over concerned Mommy? Possibly. Greedy bacon lover? Yes.

Ok, so I’m not teaching my kids to share bacon. Truth! But you should most definitely make this delicious asparagus to accompany your holiday party this year, and share with your family, because Hello! The table needs a bright and colorful veggie dish and the broccoli casserole just isn’t cutting it anymore. Ok, I’ve always hated broccoli casserole anyway so maybe I’m biased, but seriously this asparagus just screams delish!

I have an asparagus secret weapon that enables me to purchase the perfect, skinny asparagus every week for $2.99 a bundle, and the bundle is huge! On a past recipe a reader mentioned the cost of asparagus and I KNOW, it is super expensive compared to other veggies. If you are looking to save some green on your asparagus GO TO ALDI! GO TO ALDI! GO TO ALDI! I can’t say it enough. Go to Aldi! This time of year they have some awesome seasonal products and if you can find your way out of their junk food isle you might just find some awesome deals on real food. We shop there a lot because 3 kids and a husband that eats like a horse is expensive. We got our bacon at Aldi too, organic, for a fraction of the price of what I would pay at Giant or Wegman’s.

And now… I present to you… the most in-your-face asparagus picture ever. Guiness Book of World Records here I come!

Beautiful, right? Perfect bright colors for a holiday table, right? Yes and yes! Above all this asparagus is just amazingly delicious and I’m not just saying that because I made up the recipe. It might be the *Best Ever* asparagus recipe, but you know pulling out the *Best Ever* card isn’t really my style so let’s just leave it at this: This asparagus is awesome and could be, would be, the *Best Ever* if we used those words. The end!

I must also stress this recipe is SO EASY. Easy as in it takes less than 20 minutes to put together, and as little as 5 if you decide to omit the bacon. Healthy weeknight side dish right here. 🙂

And guess what? We picked a tree this weekend. Hello hunky husband! #Imarriedwell

And the fam 🙂 Of course everyone else is wearing boots and I’m in moccasins!

Parmesan, Mushroom and Rice Soup

October 25, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

Parmesan. Mushrooms. Rice. Because everything is better with cheese! 🙂

I’ve made mushroom soup a ton of times. I can easily say THIS Mushroom soup should get a big blue ribbon that says #1, and maybe even one of those little gold star stickers because it is by far my favorite mushroom soup… ever!

Not only is this soup really delicious, it is packed with nutrition and antioxidants. Yes, I just said antioxidants. I know, I know, I’m going to get all healthy-person talk right now but bear with me because you might just want to try something new at the end of this! Black Japonica rice is hands down my new favorite ingredient to use. It has a really nutty and unique flavor (without being totally overbearing) that gives this soup just a hint of earthiness that goes perfectly with the mushrooms. Not only that…. it isn’t bleached and processed or fortified with a bunch of nutrients. It doesn’t need that crap, because it is just perfect the way it is. Anything that leaks color into a soup like this rice is amazing because color=antioxidants. I love, I love I love! If you don’t have black rice on hand, check the organic section of your local grocery store, I’m sure it will be there. I used Lundberg brand. There’s a handy-dandy link at the bottom of the post so you know what it looks like! Wild rice would be a great substitute for black rice if you’d like to go that route as well.

I mean really, this color! 🙂

So what else makes this soup really amazing? Whole grain mustard. Again! I know, I know. WHY more whole grain mustard? Hasn’t every recipe I’ve recently posted contain it? To be honest, maybe. I know for sure my Sweet-Fire Chilli had a little mustard in it, and I threw it in some Mac n Cheese the other day, and well it is just awesome so please expect to see a lot more of it! It just makes everything good. That’s all.

I served this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (Ezekiel bread, butter, cheese), and my family loved it! Nothing says *breezy fall day* like soup and grilled cheese sandwiches so this was a perfect fall dinner. Veggies + Antioxidant rich rice + Grilled Cheese = Yum!

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*This listing is for 6 bags of rice, in the grocery store it is far less expensive. 🙂

#52newfoods Challenge: Sweet Fire Chilli

October 21, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)
One of the most common questions I get regarding healthier eating habits is “Do your kids really eat that stuff?”

In short, the answer is yes! They do. However, they are all their own little selves, so there are some exceptions to that statement. After all, my kids aren’t heath-food robots and neither am I. We are a real family, trying to live a healthier lifestyle by cutting processed foods and cooking from scratch. Believe me, some days go better then others, but what I know at the end of the day is everything my kids eat in our home is home cooked, real food. Nothing comes from a package, they don’t eat boxed cereals and pop-tarts for breakfast, and I cook nearly every single meal from scratch. I also have the job of being a mom, in my home, where my food goals are easily attainable. Not to mention, I am already a trained pastry chef and cook, so cooking form scratch was never an issue for me. However, I would be foolish if I thought this was everyone’s life, and I know busy families will quickly fail if the only advice they are given is “cook from scratch.”

Removing processed foods from my household didn’t happen over-night. I was desperate to loose my baby weight, and I knew the key to doing that was getting rid of packaged stuff and replacing it with fresh stuff. Little by little my husband and I made smarter choices, came home from the grocery store with more produce, and started incorporating new foods into our family dinners. When my husband was grocery shopping alone I would ask him to bring home one mystery item for me to create a new recipe with, and to encourage all of us to try something new.

When I started sharing pictures on Facebook of what I was feeding my toddler for lunch, people were instantly interested.

” How do you get your kids to eat that stuff and how can I learn to do the same thing?” came from just about everyone I knew.

Unfortunately I don’t really have any fun or interesting answers! I changed the way we ate little by little, and began cooking everything from scratch instead of using convenience items. The more and more I read ingredient labels, the more I understood just how much food companies take a simple item and turn it into something horrible and unhealthy. I also realized relying on marketing wasn’t going to cut it. I began realizing the more items I purchased THAT DIDN’T EVEN HAVE PACKAGES, the easier making healthy choices became.

Since starting the blog I’ve been on the look-out for helpful ideas for parents trying to solve the never ending mystery that is getting their kids to try new foods. I know every family has their own story, way of life, and eating habits so I was really looking for something that was relatable to all families. When I came across Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book: The 52 New Foods Challenge, I knew this book was exactly what I was searching for!

The Book

Have you ever considered forgetting about pushing “healthy” foods and just asking your kids to play a game with you? How about pitting your oldest against your youngest to see who can eat the most colors and score the most points? What if broccoli and kale scored higher so they were now the most sought after foods at the dinner table?

I know, I know, it sounds crazy but when I was reading The 52 New Foods Challenge, I started thinking “Why didn’t I think of this before?” My boys absolutely LOVE to out-do each other and dinner time is no exception.

What about considering taking just one hour a week and putting it toward trying something new? No need to completely over-haul your life, just one baby step at a time, and you will be reaching your food goals in no time! Can you imagine next year at this time if your kids were familiar with 52 new fruits and veggies that you could now incorporate into your family dinners?

The 52 New Foods Challenge lays all of this out in a fun and exciting new way to deal with food. No more stressful evenings fighting with your children about why they won’t eat their veggies! Not only does Jennifer explain the game, the point system, and the foods, she also talks about how she plans her meals and packs lunches. Last but not least, Jennifer suggests NO SNEAKING! This was one of my favorite things in the book because I feel the same way. Foods don’t count if your kids can’t see them, and feel their texture.

*For more about Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book The 52 New Food Challenge, check out her website here!

The Recipe

One amazing thing about The 52 New Foods Challenge is that the foods are listed in season. We try to eat in season as much as we can because I can get a ton of produce at local markets, and it is cheaper! I also prefer food that comes from my area, and eating in season makes this goal really attainable.

Sweet potatoes have long been a staple in our household. When my son was a baby I started feeding him sweet potatoes and he’s been loving them ever since. When he was small I would steam them really soft, and when he got a older I made fries with them. I still make my kids sweet potato fries a few times a week because I know for sure they will always, always eat them! Most of the time they are gone before I even get a chance to grab one!

When sweet potatoes became a staple in our home they started finding their way into our family dinners, and when I put them in chilli I knew I had a winner on my hands. It was absolutely the best chilli I had ever made, and I have been making chilli with sweet potatoes ever since! When I was thinking of a fall recipe to share, I knew this Sweet-Fire Chilli had to be the one. I take fire roasted tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and great northern beans to make a colorful, delicious dinner that your whole family will love. My kids love the color, I love the nutrition, and everyone loves the cheese and sour cream we get to put on top. 🙂 How many colors can you count in the bowl?

Jennifer also suggests getting kids involved with food preparation, so I let the kiddos cut up their dessert, a fruit salad. The used baby oranges, strawberries, and pomegranate seeds to mix together to make themselves a snack after school. They had fun eating their fruit as they were cutting, and even helped me with some of the tomatoes for the chilli. It actually went a lot smoother then I thought it would because typically I don’t let them help.

Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken

October 12, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

Remember when I said I hated crockpot meals, then kept making more crockpot meals? Seriously.

But you know how indecisive women can be so I’m totally blaming my gender on this one. In real non-food blogging life I’m actually pretty indecisive too. Like when my husband asks me a question and I say “I don’t care.” But somewhere inside I care, I do! I just can’t for the life of me make a decision! It is just too mind consuming to actually pony up and say what I want. No…clue…why!

But this CROCKPOT chicken though! It is so yummy and delish in all of it’s mustardy and honey-y glory. Yes, that’s two y’s because honey already ends in a Y. Yeah. So I hyphenated. And all the grammar people go nuts!

I hate to say this…but you know what else is really great about crockpots? The word *freeeedddoommm* singing in my head as I put the ingredients in the crockpot and walk away. Yeah, like knowing you totally have the next 4 hours to NOT spend in your kitchen piddling around over the stove and knocking over spices. Until I decided to make chicken stock.

Did you notice I said the words “knocking over spices?” Who else has a big pile of spices stored right beside their microwave in the most unorganized and clumsy fashion ever? You’d think being a food blogger and all I’d have a really nice spice organization system, like those little jars with magnets that hang right on the wall in the prettiest way ever. But no, I have this heaping mess of spices that is ever-growing and seems to get in the way all the time. Not to mention, try finding something in that mess! Where’s the pepper? Where’s the paprika? Heck, I can’t find it, so I’ll spend the next 15 minutes looking for it, only to find it right in front of me, on top of the microwave, where it was never supposed to be in the first place. Who put it there? Oh yeah.. I did yesterday. *sigh for all of those unorganized folks like myself* Just incase my husband is reading this… my birthday is next week *ah-hem* 🙂

So I’m using whole grain mustard in this chicken because my wonderful husband kept buying it, and I kept putting it into a bunch of random recipes and realized it’s kind of a big deal (are people still saying that?). Now if you aren’t keeping whole grain mustard stocked in your refrigerator at all times already, I’m suggesting you do so. You’ll find a ton of ways to use it, in recipes not just as a condiment, that will make you wonder where it has been all your life. I’ve been using it in pasta salads all summer, in chili, sauces, and now in crockpot meals. So yeah, you can’t go wrong with whole grain mustard!

In addition to the whole grain mustard I added raw honey, soy sauce, and chicken stock. How simple is that? Believe me, it doesn’t sound like much but this chicken is out of this world! The addition of the soy sauce kicks it up 10 notches and goes perfectly with the other ingredients.

*Just check ingredients before purchasing! I have seen some companies sneak random things like high fructose corn syrup and preservatives in mustards. A good mustard should not contain anything that you wouldn’t keep in your own home.

Blanched Green Bean Salad

August 31, 2014 by Dana

Once upon a time I went to the Farmer’s Market and came home with a grocery bag FILLED with green and wax beans. I came home, washed those babies, blanched those babies, and made a delicious vinaigrette to toss them in to make them super happy. I thought that was enough, but no, the beans wanted more. They were already perfect but they insisted they were just too beautiful to leave with ONLY a vinaigrette. I just wanted to make the beans happy, so I gave them some feta cheese and raisins and they were elated. The beans lived happily ever after for only a few minutes until they were gobbled up by the evil witch.

Ok that was true until the evil witch part because we all know I’m no witch! 😉 And well, beans don’t talk so I guess the rest isn’t true either. Ok, I totally made the whole thing up but hey, it sounded like a good story, right? Of course it was a good story, because we all love a cute fairy tale! Maybe I should have come up with something clever about Jack and the Bean Stalk but that seemed way to obvious and these beans are far too tasty for a giant who merely stuffs food in his mouth and swallows without even chewing. At least I think that’s how giants eat but who knows, I’m only 5 feet tall so clearly I know nothing about them.

Now that we have all of that fairy tale crap I just made up out of the way let’s just talk about how delicious blanched green beans are. When I was younger I thought I hated green beans because the only green beans I had ever seen were canned. I have vivid memories of seeing ugly canned green beans being served in the school cafeteria, and thinking who would eat those? YUCK! Canned green beans are all puffy and water logged and well… I hate them. I prefer my veggies on the crunchier side so generally if I’m making green beans I blanch them. Blanching is just a fancy word for submerging into boiling water for just a few minutes, then quickly submerging into cold water to stop the cooking process. No soggy beans here!

Please excuse the vinaigrette dripping off the side of my bowl. You see, I thought it would be a good idea to pick green beans out and eat them while I was taking pictures. Obviously it wasn’t. Photography fail! Just an FYI, yes this is a cold salad. The feta and raisins are optional but I highly recommend them!

Mediterranean Orzo and White Bean Salad

August 12, 2014 by Dana

Truth be told, I learned something about myself today. I don’t know how to spell the word Mediterranean. I tried many times. Is it two d’s? Two t’s? Heck I have no clue, I still don’t think I could spell it right if I wanted to! I’m not even convinced Google knows how to spell it. Thank you auto-correct! Regardless, that doesn’t take away from how much I love this pasta salad! *Insert blogger sales pitch about how amazing this pasta salad is* The orzo, the feta, the veggies, the beans, the salty sweetness, I mean really it is just a party in a bowl all around. I searched high and low for whole wheat orzo because I wrongly assumed it was a thing. Why wouldn’t every grocery store carry it? We are living in 2014, you know… the future, where people have woken up to the fact that the bleaching and enriching process is poo-poo! Thankfully, my search ended at Wegman’s where I ran into a box of whole wheat orzo and the rest is history.

I have been making pasta salads all summer because they are quick, easy, and able to pack protein and veggies. I love putting pasta salads over spinach or greens and eating it for lunch (no dressing required). My lunch is usually just shoving some food in my face because I’m too busy feeding hungry boys to even think about what I am eating. Even though I’m home with them I can relate to the people at day jobs who feel too busy to eat and a lunch like this is a great solution. You don’t have to fiddle around with those stupid plastic dressing containers, or a bunch of baggies. Throw some spinach and pasta salad in a container and you have a meal in a bowl. One bowl, one spoon/fork and there you have it!

The dressing for this salad is a mix of a few bold flavors, which is what makes is so good! Whole grain mustard, tomato paste, and red wine vinegar come together to create the perfect companion for olives and feta. My husband’s grandparents hooked us up with some yellow tomatoes and they were super sweet and complimented the saltiness of this salad perfectly. If you can’t find a sweeter tomato, I would suggest adding a few extra sun dried tomatoes, or even a handful of dried cranberries to give the salad a nice balance.

I struggled with what to call this flavor bomb, but I think Mediterranean White Bean and Orzo Salad about sums it up, right? Sheesh I really need to start getting more creative but it seemed better then “The Best EVER Pasta Salad Recipe!” agreed? 😉