Greek Pasta Salad

Many apologies for the pause in recipe posting. Or any posting for that matter. Now that I have a lighter week, it has been a little easier to make time to cook. This month is just going to be a little touch and go. 

Ok, so on to the pasta salad. Really, I have never been a fan of pasta salads. Though I LOVE pasta, cold noodles have just not been so appealing to me. But this dish may be changing my mind. It actually came about about a week or two ago when my mom was asking me what I thought she should bring to pot-luck at church. Though I'd never made it before, it sounded like a good idea. I thought I'd better try it myself to make sure.  

Ingredients: 

• about half a package bow-tie (or other short pasta) 
• a handful of fresh spinach leaves
• 1 4oz package (or more) of feta cheese
• 1 small container cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 
• 1/3 cup halved kalamata olives
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped 
• 1/3 cup deli-sliced pepperoncini peppers 
• light balsamic vinaigrette to taste (about 1/3 cup) 
• salt, black pepper, and Greek seasoning (optional) to taste 

(serves about 5-6)

Cook the pasta according to the package. While it's cooking, prepare a large bowl of ice water. When the pasta is done cooking, drain and immediately add to the ice water. Drain really well and return to bowl. Doing this will stop the cooking and keep the pasta from cooking all the other ingredients. 

Next, add all the other ingredients to the bowl and gently toss with the pasta. Add the dressing gradually until everything is lightly coated but not drowning. You could also add some sliced red onion (or cucumber) for a little crunch, but I'm not really so I left them out. 

This is a nice, light dish that's quick and easy to make. And best of all, it really delivers on flavor.