Greek Orzo Salad

This pasta salad is my thing to bring to potlucks. I ♥ it and made it tonight for our dinner tomorrow, when James' mom is coming over. It's not cheap to make because it has lots of ingredients that are a little pricey. The whole dish cost over $10. The amounts given here make a huge amount of food though.


1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo pasta
12 oz. marinated artichoke hearts
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, cubed

1 red onion, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 can black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1. Cook the orzo pasta according to the directions on the box.
2. Drain artichoke hearts, but save the liquid for later.
3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, artichoke hearts, tomato, cucumber, onion, feta, olives, parsley, lemon juice, oregano and lemon pepper.
4. Toss and chill for 1 hour.
5. Just before serving, stir in the reserved artichoke marinade. If the artichokes you have are not marinaded, you can stir in 1/2 cup of Italian dressing instead.

AllRecipes.com says a serving (1/6 of the recipe) is 348 calories and 10 grams of fat. However, 1/6 of this recipe is a very big serving size. You will be surprised at how much food you end up with.