Spinach Orzo Salad

• -1 lb of orzo pasta
• -1 cup of toasted pinenuts (roast in a skillet on top of stove until pinenuts are slightly browned)
• -3 cups of sliced or chopped cucumber
• -1/2 cup of finely chopped red onion
• -1 finely chopped bell pepper (green, red, yellow, or orange) cherry or chopped tomatoes
• -1 1/2 lbs of feta cheese ( if you can get French Feta or feta that comes in a can from the middle eastern market-it will be even better)
• -2 sprigs of fresh thyme (remove leaves)
• -Juice of 1 large lemon
• -1/2 cup of olive oil
• -2 teaspoons of ground black pepper
• -1 bag of baby spinach (you can double the amount of spinach if you like)

1. -Cook orzo according to package directions. Chill
2. -Toast pinenuts and reserve
3. -Combine cucumber, onion, bell pepper, tomatos, and chilled or room temperature orzo
4. -Crumble feta and add (should be small crumbles. If using a very creamy feta, like French feta, the texture will be more like cream cheese, it might "disappear" into the salad and that is ok)
5. -Combine thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper and add to vegetable and orzo
6. -Just before serving, toss the spinach into the salad.
7. Alternative hot pasta dish (omit cucumber and use chopped tomatoes)
8. -Toast pinenuts and reserve
9. -Combine onion, bell pepper
10. -Crumble feta and add (should be small crumbles. If using a very creamy feta, like French feta, the texture will be more like cream cheese, it might "disappear" into
11. -Combine thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper and add to vegetable mixture
12. -Add spinach
13. -Cook orzo according to package directions and add hot to the vegetable mixture. The cheese will melt and the spinach will wilt. Serve hot.

orzo pasta, pinenuts, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, feta cheese, thyme, lemon, olive oil, ground black pepper, baby spinach

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/spinach-orzo-salad-1264472 (may not work)