Orzo Spinach Greek Salad

Howdy! Welcome to Tuesday; only 2 more days to go in this short little work week and then a long weekend - wooohooo!!!

Tomorrow my office is having a potluck lunch. Our potlucks are amazing! For the meat eaters, there is a turkey cooked all morning on a rotisserie and a slow cooked ham and then tons and tons of delectable sides. My task was to bring a spinach salad, but I was determined not to bring just any salad. I wanted something mouth-watering and delicious. Alot of co-workers and friends follow my blog, so lately I've been feeling the pressure to bring a really kick butt dish wherever we go! Lucky for me, I'm always up for a challenge and I think I hit a jackpot with this salad!!

At first my plan was to make a greek salad with spinach, but that just seemed too blah, so I decided that I would make a greek inspired salad with orzo paired with the most amazing, most delectable homemade greek dressing ever!!

Spinach and Orzo Greek Salad

Makes 1 large salad perfect for a crowd.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what my critics say tomorrow, but I have a feeling that my salad is going to be a huge hit. One thing I know for absolute sure is that the dressing I've made is the best one yet!! It's amazing and I'm going to be making it alot!

16 oz package uncooked orzo

3 - 4 c. packed baby spinach, thinly sliced

2/3 c. feta cheese 

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 c. sliced black olives (I think kalamata would be better, but I used what I had on hand)

1/2 c. sundried tomatoes, sliced

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook orzo for 8 to 10 minutes ~ you want to cook until it is al dente. Drain and rinse the orzo under cold water. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

If you were planning to serve the salad right away, you would add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. I'm not serving my salad until tomorrow, so I added a small amount of dressing to the orzo, so it wouldn't get sticky and dry overnight. I then topped the orzo with the spinach, feta, red onion, black olives and sundried tomatoes, but I didn't mix them in. I covered it like that and put it in the fridge to chill overnight. I will mix the ingredients together and add the dressing about 20 minutes before serving tomorrow.

....and now for the most amazing part: The Dressing
I found this recipe at allrecipes

1/2 c. olive oil
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp onion powder (I didn't have, so I left out)
1 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 c. red wine vinegar

Add all ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet. Pulse until well blended.

Store in an airtight container. I don't think you'll have to worry about this dressing going bad. It is so good, it won't last long enough :-)

Unfortunately, you don't get a final shot of my gorgeous creation quite yet. Patience my pretties, I will unveil the final product tomorrow.

Make sure you check back tomorrow for the final reveal and for my second "What I Ate Wednesday". I promise it's going to be mouth-watering. You're going to wish you worked with me ;-)

What do you love to take to an office potluck?

Have a great evening.

Andrea

Homemade Granola

Happy Monday! I hope you all have had a great start to your week. I am super excited for this week to start chugging along because we have an Easter Potluck lunch at work on Wednesday (make sure you check out What I Ate Wednesday to see all the good eats) and then I have a four day weekend to look forward to because I'm one of the lucky few that get Good Friday and Easter Monday off - yay :-)

Yesterday I had a major craving for granola and I thought this would be a good week to have a healthy, filling breakie to start my workdays off on the right foot. Even though it's a short week, I often find these are the ones that drag by the slooowest, so I figured granola for breakfast would be the perfect way to give myself an early morning boost.

How do you feel about granola? I looovvvee it, however I do not love the crazy expensive prices you pay for an itty bitty box at the grocery store. When I stumbled upon the world of food blogging, one of the first things I made was granola. Yes, I burnt the granola to a black, charred crisp, but I was not deterred. I made another batch right away and it was absolutely perfect!

I have never made the same granola twice. I followed a recipe the first couple of times and since then I've gone 'freestyle' and made my own version with whatever I had in my pantry. The only must haves in my opinion are oats (obviously!), maple syrup and some form of nut butter. Other than that, you can throw in whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you have on hand. If you want to give it a boost of nutrition, add in some ground flax, hemp seeds, wheat germ or my all-time fave, chia seeds. The local bulk store is a granola maker's best friend!

Andrea's Homemade Granola ~ version #1

This is fabulous granola recipe - I think it's one of my favourites to date! It's got a nice sweetness from the maple syrup without being overly sweet. I especially love the dried peaches. I don't usually have them on hand, but I spied them this weekend and picked up a few because I knew they'd be the perfect addition. Normally I would use dried apricots, but the peaches truly rock out in this recipe.

4 c. oats

1/2 c. dried peaches, cut into small chunks

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. raw almonds, broken up

1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds

1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp coconut oil (I think canola oil would work)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 c. natural almond butter (your fave nut butter would work)

3/4 c. pure maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  

Add the dry ingredients (oats to cinnamon) together in a large bowl.

Next, add the remaining ingredients (coconut oil to maple syrup) in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and allow the mixture to boil for 5 - 6 minutes. Make sure you stir frequently.

Add the sauce to the dry ingredients and still until well mixed. If necessary, you can always add a wee bit more maple syrup.

Once the mixutre is well blended, pour it out onto a cookie sheet. I will warn you the cookie sheet will be quite full. Spread the mixture evenly over the cookie sheet and place into the oven.

Bake for 30 - 32 minutes. I stirred the granola every 8 minutes to avoid burning. It is a sad, sad scene to burn your granola, so I don't take any chances!!

You will know that the granola is ready when it is crispy and golden brown.

Now, I've got to warn you that the granola is hot, so have some willpower and refrain from taste testing until it has cooled down. If you're like me and you completely ignore my warning, I would caution you to stay away from the fruit. Trust me, it is no fun to burn all of the tastebuds off your tongue before you even get a chance to enjoy the awesomeness of this granola....I am speaking from experience ;-).

Yum! The flavour of this granola is to die for! Maple syrup and almond butter are an amazing combo.

Make sure you store your granola in an air tight container. I am loving mason jars right now ~ I find them cuter and more interesting than a boring old plastic container - just my opinion!

Granola can be used in so many different ways.

...sprinkle it on banana soft serve or fresh fruit...or on banana soft serve & fruit...

...munch on some dry granola as a snack....

....I also love to have it in a bowl smothered with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 

SO. GOOD.

What do you love to add into your favourite granola recipes? What is your favourite way to eat granola?

Have a great evening!

Andrea