Orzo Pasta Salad

Below is a dish that I love to make up whenever the hubby is not around for dinner.  It's much more of a girlie dish.

I adapted this dish from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that she had on her show years ago.  I hope you enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 6 (I usually take mine to work for the next few days)

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth (or you can use 4 cups of water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 whole shallot, chopped
1/2 cup basil, chopped
For the dressing:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
feta cheese

Instructions:
Bring the chicken stock up to a boil over high heat then add orzo.  Cook in stock for about 8 minutes.  You want it to be cooked through but there still may be stock in the pot.  Drain the orzo and set aside to cool.  I will sometimes put mine in the fridge to speed up cooling process, usually because I'm impatient.

While orzo is cooking, drain and rinse the chick peas and set aside.  Chop shallot and basil. 

For the dressing, put red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper into a blender.  Begin to blend and slowly add the olive oil. 

Once pasta is cooled combine with the shallot, chick peas, basil.  Pour dressing over the pasta salad and mix. 

Tips:
 - I do not usually use all of the dressing, feel free to store it for another dish or you could manipulate the recipe.
 - You can also add chopped mint with the basil.  I usually omit this but it's delicious either way.

Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

Very easy recipe that is delicious and I'm going to guess some what nutritious but I could be completely wrong.  Don't judge me if I am.  :-)