GF Greek Summer Pasta Salad

And a bonus crowd pleasing salsa

Summer is almost here, and we’re still on the assembly dinner/same thing over-and-over again train. It’s not exciting, but it’s working for us right now. It’s nice to utilize the same grocery list, and make the same batch meals instead of trying new things that get rejected, or worse, wasted. I’m excited to make new meals - or a single meal the whole family will eat (!) - but that just isn’t the chapter we’re in right now, and I’ve accepted that.

Right now my big win is adding fruits/vegetables/proteins in the sides and snacks of the day. If our primary entrees are pizza, tacos, or nuggets, so be it! (For now.) There is still some interesting variety going on, and I count that as a success.

For Memorial Day, I made a Greek inspired pasta salad, and I forgot how much I love giant make-ahead salads we can eat throughout the week. I especially love the ease of the jarred ingredients with the freshness of the dill and parsley. It’s low effort, but very tasty and feeds a crowd.

GF Greek Pasta Salad
1 box small GF pasta shape, like rotini or penne
1/2 cup small diced red onion (or half of a small onion)
1 jar kalamata (or your favorite) olives, drained and sliced in half
1 jar artichokes, drained and sliced in half
1 jar roasted red peppers, patted dry and chopped
1 cup chopped dill
1 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1 clove minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook and cool the pasta, then add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Fully mix with the pasta, then drizzle the dressing on top. Voila!

This is a delicious vegetarian dish, especially with the addition of chickpeas. However you can easily add any chopped protein you want like grilled chicken or shrimp. Lastly, the great thing about this recipe is you can swap in your family’s favorite veggies. If you prefer to omit the red onion, or swap the briney olives for some chopped grilled veggies, that will work great too!

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Bonus Black Bean Cilantro Salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 12 oz jar salsa
1 cup cilantro
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl and serve with tortilla chips or over your favorite GF grain. I realize for some people, corn may not be an option. In that case, you can omit the corn, and pump up the volume in the recipe by choosing a fun salsa, like pineapple or mango.

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What We’re Loving: Seaweed. Sadly SO many vegetables lately have been getting rejected, even when offered with ranch dressing or ketchup, so I’ve relied heavily on seaweed snacks for that extra veggie boost. These are our favorites.

What We’re Trying Next: In all honestly, I still need to introduce more fish into the mix. My daughter had an unfortunate reaction to fish sticks that put us off fish for a while, but I’m ready to try again. In that same vein, my kids rarely eat shellfish, and I think summertime could be a great time to try more sea foods, or a GF Chowder.

This Time Last Year: BBQ Veggie Burgers! These really scratch the itch for Memorial Day or Summertime burgers if your family happens to be vegetarian (or for Meatless Monday!)