GREEK PASTA SALAD

My neighbor and friend, Amanda, made this awesome greek pasta salad a couple week-ends ago. She sent me home with a big tupper-ware filled with some leftovers.  It was so good!  I ate it all in one day!  Every time I would go in the fridge for just one bite it would turn into two bites and then three bites...ok you get the picture...I really, really liked it!  I liked it so much that I decided to make my own version of this salad this past friday night.  It was the easiest pasta salad to make.  Just some pasta, tomatoes, cucummbers, black olives, feta cheese and some greek seasonings and you have got a great summer salad.  I served my
Greek Pasta Salad with some balsamic grilled pork chops and called it a meal!


GREEK PASTA SALAD 

* I made my version with a whole wheat rotini, but you can use any type of pasta that you would like.

• 1 lb. pasta
• 6 oz. black olives or kalamata olives - cut in half
• 1 pint grap tomatoes - cut in half
• 1 cucumber - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 oz. crumbled feta
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 TB. dried oregano
• salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

1. Boil a pot of salted water.  Add pasta and cook until is is aldente - about 8 minutes.  Drain pasta and run under cold water to cool.  Place pasta in a bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil over it to prevent it from sticking.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients olives to salt and pepper to the pasta.  Mix well.
3. Cover and place in fridge for at least 2 hours.