Orzo Salad

This salad is EVERYTHING. Most of the time, I post things on Pinterest and never really intend on making them (I don't know, I just like to look at pictures of food maybe?) but this salad caught my attention. Cucumbers, chickpeas, orzo, lemon, feta, and dill? 

Uh, chea girl. Game on.

But first thing's first, a girl's gotta grub. I started off the afternoon with Lauren at Zoe's Kitchen for some lunch. Good stuff. Their location in Ashburn just opened and we had plans on hitting up Fresh Market, which happens to be right next door!

I had the Greek Salad and a cup of their Chicken and Orzo Soup. So delicious! And those pita wedges have made me a fan of pita wedges.

Lauren had a chicken pita and hummus. Yummers.

Such an awesome place for a quick light lunch! It's a good thing we fueled up beforehand, because when we walked into the Fresh Market, it was sensory overload. We would have bought EVERYTHING if we were still hungry. I still bought a LOT. I'm convinced this is the absolute greatest place to have a snack attack. I picked up some dark chocolate covered cashews, sesame sticks, unsweetened coconut flakes, and the ingredients for the orzo salad and a gorgeous chicken for dinner.

You Will Need:

1 cup orzo (I used whole wheat hollaaa at some whole grains!)

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup chopped cucumber

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup diced red onion

For The Dressing:

3 Tablespoons olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain the orzo and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and drain. Set the pasta aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine orzo, chickpeas, cucumbers, feta, dill, and red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together ingredients for the dressing. Drizzle over salad and stir until ingredients are well coated. Serve immediately or chilled.

I will most definitely be eating this for lunch this week - throw in some chicken and we're set. Easiest and tastiest lunch week ever!

Most definitely plan on making this for lunch, office get togethers, BBQs, showers, family reunions, picnics, National Cucumber Day, ALL OF THE DAYS. Get back to me when you do. I could talk about orzo ALL DAY LONG.