Greek Pasta Salad

I was looking for a good summer side dish to take to the lake this past weekend, and found this Greek Pasta Salad recipe at ValSoCal . Pasta salad is the best at the lake, so I thought I would give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 lb of your choice of pasta

1/4 c olive oil (plus a tbsp for cooking the veggies)

one yellow onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 c of small mushrooms, sliced

4 chicken breats, cut into strips (optional, I made it sans chicken)

1 14oz can of atrichoke hearts in water, chopped

2 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp parsley

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 c white wine

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

8 oz. feta cheese

carton of cherry tomatoes

salt and pepper

Cook pasta and set aside. Meanwhile, in a skillet heat tbsp olive oil on med-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook until they have color. Add these veggies and the artichoke hearts to the pasta.

Mix the white wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and spices. Mix well and add to the pasta. Top with feta and tomatoes.

Refrigerate overnight for the best results, letting all of the flavors soak in. Enjoy!

-Whitney