Orzo Topped with Greek Style Roasted Veggies and Feta

Another day, another roasted veggie recipe! It really does make things easier with a little one around. Once everything is in the pan, I can just toss it in the oven and forget about it for the next 25 minutes - no stirring, mixing, or flipping required! Plus I can roast more than I need and reheat throughout the week when I'm feeling tired and not at all like cooking.

Honestly, I'm always surprised by how good it turns out as well. I don't have to do a dang thing to it, and there it is all steamy and aromatic, caramelized bits hiding on the bottom, and veggies that just want to melt in your mouth. Plus there are just about a million different flavor combos you can throw together. This time I opted for a Greek twist with the feta, red onion, and oregano. I paired it with orzo, which I've never actually made before (I know that seems unbelievable considering how much I love pasta) and topped it with a little extra feta. As we say in my house, "it's always betta with feta." Or, in this case, "it's always betta with extra feta."

Pasta Malafemmina

Although fall is just around the corner, inspiring visions of the pumpkin pies, simmering soups, and steaming cups of hot chocolate to come, summer is still very much clinging on, outside as well as inside my kitchen. Usually I am ready for fall within the first couple of weeks of the sweltering Central Valley summer, but this time I'm holding on a bit - mainly because I'm still enjoying the myriad of produce the summer brings.

Indeed, I'm not quite ready to give up my favorites, such as the beautiful red, yellow, and orange tomatoes I used for this dish. But, luckily, I still have a few more weeks to get my fill before jumping headfirst into fall!

This recipe was inspired by a pasta dish I had while in Italy (Check it out here!). The original dish I had was literally one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. I didn't know exactly what went into it, but I of course wanted to try it out as soon as I got home. I knew the original had a very light tomato sauce, which was probably more olive oil than tomato, so I started there. Then I added in a healthy helping of capers, some kalamata olives, and a few other ingredients I discerned from taste and picture. It turned out very yummy!

Greek Pizza Bread

I’m always amazed when a handful of ingredients and minimal effort result in deliciousness, and today’s recipe is the perfect example. Last night Dustin and I were both craving pizza, but a combination of laziness and frugality made the acquisition of said pizza a little difficult. I opted instead to make pizza bread, which is always yummy and very easy to make, only with a Greek twist.

The idea came to me when I came across THIS feta dip recipe, which looked so good! I adapted it for my pizza bread, used red onion instead of green, and oregano instead of Greek seasoning (I can’t seem to find it anywhere, and by anywhere, I mean the one store where I looked for it). The end result was so much better than a store bought pizza, and had me wishing I had made more…in fact, I thought about it all day today and couldn’t wait to get home to make it again!