CSA Inspired: Greek Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

12-16 oz. box of orzo pasta

4 chicken breasts, dices and sauteed until a nice golden brown

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces

(usually in a jar with oil, drip or pat dry to reduce added oil)

one bunch of asparagus, steamed and chopped into one inch, bite size pieces

2/3 cup halved, pitted kalamata olives

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup chopped spring onions, green onions, or scallions

(someone please teach me the difference)

3 fresh lemons, halved and squeezed

1-2 Tbs. olive oil to taste

roughly chopped feta

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook chicken, set aside
Steam asparagus and cook orzo in separate pots at the same time.
While asparagus and orzo are cooking, begin chopping, dicing, and juicing, tossing everything except the feta into a large bowl.
Asparagus should finish first - you want there to still be some crunch, soggy asparagus is no fun. Chop asparagus and toss in the bowl.
When orzo is finished, drain and while hot, fold into the ingredients, add feta, mix and serve.

This is great served hot and even better as leftovers.

I love trying new recipes, incorporating both pantry staples and fresh from our CSA produce, in an outside the box kinda way. For this recipe, I used basil from our balcony, asparagus and spring onions from our CSA, and the rest of the incredients we had on hand. I used more of my favorite ingredients (lemon and kalmata olives) less of others (sun dried tomatoes, love the flavor they add, but you won't catch me eating them straight outta the jar). This recipe, like most summer salads, is very forgiving. Play around with it until you have a balance of flavor you prefer.

On another note, now that CSA has started, I am working on a family grocery (+ Shannon work lunch/coffee/other food related) budget. I figure CSA season is a great time to get into the swing of spending less at the grocery store, plus it will help me clean out the stockpiles in my pantry. I am working on a list of staples we always buy, so when I check the grocery circular, I can buy our staples on sale instead of over paying when we run out of something. Just a little step I am taking towards investing in tomorrow.

Do you have a grocery budget?

How do you manage it?

Any tips and tricks?

Do you have a favorite lost cost meal?