Delicious Dinner

When I was in Colorado I had the best pasta salad ever. I got the recipe and recreated it tonight for my friend Cassie and she loved it. It's definitely going to be a staple this summer. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested.

1 5-6 oz bag of baby spinach

1 15 oz can of great northern beans, rinsed & drained 

4 oz crumbled feta cheese 

1/4 cup dried tomatoes, chopped 

2  green onions, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel 

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. fresh oregano

1 tbsp. fresh thyme

1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 tsp. fresshly ground black pepper

12 oz dried pasta of choice

shaved parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

1.  In large serving bowl combine spinach, beans, cheese, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon peel & juice, oil, oregano, thyme, salt & pepper.  Cover; let stand at room temperature while cooking pasta or up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.

2.  Shortly before serving, cook pasta.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking water.  Toss cooked pasta & pasta water with spinach salad mixture.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I made some slight changes. I used white kidney beans and 6 oz of feta. I left out the tomatoes because Cassie doesn't like them and it was one less thing to buy. I also left out the lemon peel because I don't own a zester. I used dry oregano instead of fresh because they didn't have any fresh at the store I went to. I doubled both the lemon juice and the oil and was really lax about the measurements on everything else and it still came out incredibly delicious.

Cassie and I had plans to make dinner together but when we got to the store we decided to make the pasta salad and then grab the rest of our meal from the frozen section of Trader Joe's. You can almost never go wrong with their frozen food. 

We chose marinated chipotle chicken skewers and "beans so green" mixed greens in garlic herb sauce. It was all delicious. I also made homemade iced tea this afternoon. 

Cassie and I felt like such grown ups cooking dinner, eating at the dinner table (something I NEVER do), and watching a huge event on the news. Ignore the fact that we partied last night and I was feeling less than amazing until about 7pm and we would actually pass for adults.