Easy Mediterranean Pantry Pasta Bowl

 

As I was eating my lunch at home today, it occurred to me that you all might like to know about this easy dish I made for myself!  If you have read my blog for very long, you know that I like making quick but delicious lunches usually meatless and filled with lots fresh vegetables.  I love meat as much as the next guy, but good-thing I also love vegetables, so when I'm home-alone I really enjoy making "vegetarian" meals.  They usually don't take as much time as cooking something with meat, and I love a hot meal that feels effortless!

 

One of my favorite lunches to make is "pantry pasta" which is a non-recipe ... recipe!  Basically it's whatever pasta you have, with whatever ingredients you want to throw in!  Simple, right?!  I usually have a base of bell pepper, onion, and garlic and just have fun with the rest. 

 

I usually add chickpeas to my pasta, but this time I added kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, feta and Parmesan cheese.  I had whole wheat macaroni and so that's what I used.  All of this sauteed and tossed with olive oil and seasonings is really delicious and healthy, too!

 

(Here is another tasty recipe for Pesto Pantry Pasta that I've made in the past.) 

 

These pictures today were taken on the fly as I already started eating this, but I just wanted to share this with you!  I had to edit out the clean laundry basket in the background, ha! :)

 

Easy, simple, colorful, flavorful, healthy, and delicious are all things that I love about this Mediterranean Pasta Bowl!  

 

 

Mediterranean Pantry Pasta Bowl

 

Pasta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Red & Green Bell Pepper, diced

Onion, diced

Minced Garlic

Grape Tomatoes, halved

Kalamata Olives, diced

Feta Cheese

(I use the herbed crumbled Feta from Trader Joes)

Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Italian seasoning

Salt & Pepper

 

 

Cook the pasta according to directions on the package.

 

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the pepper and onion in olive oil until they are softened.  Add the other vegetables, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until everything is hot.

 

Add a little of the pasta water in with the vegetables.  Allow this to bubble for a minute or so to thicken up. 

 

Add the pasta to the skillet with the vegetables and a little more olive oil.  Stir in the feta cheese and pour everything into a bowl.  Grate Parmesan cheese over the top with more salt and pepper, if desired.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 



Fresh Mediterranean Inspired Salads

 

I thought I would share with you these beautiful salads while I'm working putting together a post of our sweet Valentines Day for you.  Hope yours was wonderful, too!

 

I am loving salads more all the time!  I've been trying new ones at restaurants and come home inspired to experiment with delicious flavors.  I've always naturally loved the light and healthy flavors of Mediterranean food!  Lately I've been making salads inspired by their cuisine a couple times a week, and they're delicious.

 

  I've always been an olives freak (I can't get enough! I'm always given all the olives in the salad at Olive Garden.  It's just known that I'm the olive eater!)  Of course I love extra virgin olive oil, chickpeas, feta cheese, and cucumbers....you get the picture.  Although chickpeas are a more recent love over the past few years, I'll sometimes eat them a few days a week!  I always buy them canned, so I drain and thoroughly rinse the beans to get all the salt water off before adding them to anything.  (Actually I do this with any canned bean or vegetable.)

 

I've recently discovered that I like very finely diced red onion in these salads.  Mom has always like this, and I love cooked onions but have always picked raw ones off salads. I gave it a try again and this time  I've realized ... a little red onion is amazing in Greek salads!!!  Put them right in your homemade Greek vinaigrette dressing for a slightly milder taste that still adds that sweet heat undertone.

 

 

I think I was spurred on when I went to Gloria's World Village Cafe (in Murray, Ky.) with my Mom and sister and ordered the gyro salad.  It came with tzaziki sauce as the dressing, and of course had all of the other fresh Greek ingredients.  We all ordered this with delicious falafal and loved this salad so much!  I was inspired to use tzatziki for my salad dressing and that's what I'm doing now.  It's really fresh tasting and has little-to-no fat and higher protein from the Greek yogurt that's in it.  How's that for a salad dressing!?

 

I'm sharing with you a couple of my new favorite Mediteranean inspired salads.  This first one is more of a classic Greek salad with store bought tzatziki dressing, although I make an easy homemade Greek vinaigrette that's absolutely divine with it, too!  I'll give you the ingredients for that, as well.  If eaten by themselves (as I often do for lunch) either salad would be delicious with warm pita bread on the side!

 

 

Classic Greek Salad

Romaine Lettuce

Chickpeas

Kalamata Olives, or any kind

Red Onion, finely diced or slivered

Cucumber, diced

Grape Tomatoes

Crumbled Feta Cheese (Trader Joes has herbed kind that's delish)

Tzatziki Sauce

Salt & Pepper

 

If you don't use the tzatziki sauce for dressing, please try out my...

 

Homemade Greek Vinegarette:

2 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 part Red Wine Vinegar

Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

Dijon Mustard, enough to make a little creamy

Pinch of Dried Oregano

Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

(Finely minced shallots would make it perfect!)

 

Add all of this to a Mason jar with a lid and shake, shake, shake it up!!!

This is dressing absolutely delicious on salads.

 

The other favorite new salad is....

 

 

Creamy Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Graped Tomatoes, halved

English Cucumber, chopped

Red Onion, finely chopped

Fresh Basil

Tzatziki Sauce

Lemon wedge

Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper

 

 

In a medium bowl, mix tzatziki dressing, juice of the lemon wedge, basil, onion, salt and pepper.

Stir until blended together and set aside.

 

Add the the cucumber and tomato to the same bowl and mix together so the dressing is saturating the vegetables.

 

This creamy cucumber & tomato salad is wonderful!!  I make it in single servings for my lunch at home, and that's my whole meal,  It would be wonderful served as a side dish in the summertime with whatever you have on the grill!  I want to try it with some feta cheese, too. Be sure and store in in the fridge if you're not eating it right away. 

 

 

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