Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Yummy pasta Salad

I had a number of veggies to clear out of my fridge and needed something for a late breakfast/early lunch. I also had a bit of cream cheese and mayonnaise left over from before lent which needed to be used up...So, here is the yummy pasta meal I made :-).

Orzo and Veggie Pasta Salad
Ingredients
4 oz (1 cup) dry orzo pasta
2 Cups Frozen Peas
2.5 Cups chopped red bell pepper
1 Cup chopped cucumber
1 Cup chopped celery
1/2 Cup chopped dry moraccan olives
1/3 Cup Minced red onion 1 1/2 Tbsp. Light mayonnaise
1/2 Tbsp Pesto
1/3 Cup light cream cheese
1 Tbsp (or to taste) balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Water

Directions
Cook the orzo. About half way through cooking, add the frozen peas. Meanwhile, chop up all the other vegetables and the olives. Drain Orzo and peas and rinse with cold water in a colander until cooled. Let drain. Add Orzo and peas to vegetable mixture. Make dressing: Blend mayonnaise, cream cheese, and pesto together. Add enough balsamic vinegar and water to smooth dressing out slightly. Dressing should be the same consistency as a thick ranch or ceasar dressing. Fold dressing into pasta and veggies and enjoy!! Chick peas could or feta cheese could be added for protein.
Serving size = 1 Cup
Number of Servings: 7

Nutritional Info: Amount Per Serving ,Calories: 141.6, Total Fat: 3.6 g, Cholesterol: 2.6 mg, Sodium: 186.4 mg, Total Carbs: 23.2 g, Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g, Protein: 5.6 g

4 comments:

Magnificent M said...

You are so inventive and creative!! I on the other hand can only do google searches for other people's inventions

T. said...

Lol, but I got the cook the peas with the pasta thing from you!! lol.

Magnificent M said...

well, there I've contributed to creativity through my obsessive drive for efficiency. How very uncreative!

Kassianni said...

wow that sounds so yummy!