Greek Style Pasta Salad

What's the go-to side dish for a hamburgers-and-hotdogs cookout? Pasta salad, of course.

I may be jumping a little ahead of myself here but I can't help but be excited for picnic and Barbecue season! This is a recipe that was always a favorite at our Picnics, Potlucks, and Barbecues for the past few summers and its so incredibly simple to just throw together. A friend of mine from work gave me this recipe and it has been so helpful to me when I have to think of something to make at the last minute! I ended up making this when we had my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins over for a Barbecue on Saturday night and everyone really enjoyed it. We were also invited to an Easter potluck on Sunday and since I had leftover ingredients I thought I would quickly toss one together to bring along with us. It was a pretty big bowl so I sort of had the feeling we would be coming home with a week supply of leftovers for just the 2 of us to finish...but that was not the case at all! That huge bowl was cleaned right out! Not a crumb of cheese or a lonely little pepper left in the bowl.

 I always seem to ask my husband the same questions every single time I have to make something for others..."Hunny? Do you think this will be something everyone would like? Should I make this instead? Should I bring 2 things just in case people don't like this one? " He always just stands there with a puzzled look on his face not knowing what to answer...But when I mention that I'm thinking about bringing the Greek pasta salad he always says "Oh yeah that's a good choice!" 

We both seem to know that it is usually a safe thing to bring because it goes with everything and we always leave with a much emptier bowl than we came with. 

Ok so sorry to all of you feta cheese lovers out there but I have to say I've never been a big fan of the stuff. I was always the person that would avoid it in salad or hope that my family didn't ask for it on the pizza when we would make an order... But after trying it in this pasta salad I realized what I was actually missing out on! It has taken me a looonnggg time but I am learning to give foods a fair try before I say that I don't like them! 

 One of my favorite ingredients is definitely the Greek Feta and Oregano dressing because it is light but yet full of flavor - And the crispy fresh peppers and onions give it the perfect yummy crunch with every bite!  I don't have exact measurements for this salad but its pretty easy to judge just by stirring it if you would like to add more peppers or more dressing.

If you would like to try out this recipe here are the 5 simple ingredients you'll need: 

• Pasta - (You can use any type of pasta you would like for this salad - I would recommend either penne or fusilli) 
• 1 container of Feta cheese (for one large size bowl I use half the container of cheese but you can add as much or as little as you prefer)
• Greek Feta & Oregano salad dressing (I used about half the bottle in mine - but again you can just keep adding and stirring until you get your desired amount. I really like the Kraft dressing but there are also other brands of the Greek dressing you can use as well.)
• 1 red onion (depending on the size of your salad you might only want to put half the onion) 
• 3 assorted peppers (You can use any colors you'd like - 1/2 of each pepper is usually enough for a medium sized salad but if you are making a large bowl I'd recommend using them all. Again you can be the judge and add as little or as much as you'd like.

      *Note* This recipe does actually call for black olives - I never added them in because I prefer the salad without them. But if you're an olive fan than I'm sure you'd really enjoy that little extra ingredient. 

      Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions on the bag. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool. Transfer the pasta into serving bowl.

                 

              2. Chop your peppers and onion into small chunks and then add to the bowl of pasta.

           3. Then add your desired amount of Greek Feta & Oregano dressing to the bowl and mix together.

          4. Crumble your desired amount of Feta Cheese on top and your pasta salad is complete! 

You can also make this salad a day ahead if you'd like and just refrigerate until you're ready to serve! Sorry again for not having exact measurements for this recipe - Hopefully it will be easy for you to judge the amounts...you can always add more of something if you need to. So try it out and let me know what you think! :) Hope everyone had a great Easter! Enjoy!