this is a recipe i had clipped out of a magazine years ago and have never made. so when i was planning meals last week i thought its time to try it.  it seemed easy and yummy things i look for, for sunday night because i usually work on sundays flipping pancakes for the masses of knoxvillians that like to brunch.  the recipe was very simple although i didn’t agree with their use of green onions, felt like they should have been red onions in it ,and there seemed to be a serious like of seasoning. so i tweaked it a little adding a greek seasoning mix to it along with fresh garlic.  grilled chicken or prosciutto would also be an excellent addition.  i also opted out of mixing all the feta in with the pasta, the pasta was so warm it would just melt it all so i recommend using the feta as just a garnish.

and to continue my quest of making strawberry dishes to celebrate them being in season i made a strawberry-rhubarb pie with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. yes on saturday night by 8pm i had made homemade ice cream, baked a pie, and planted flowers in my garden. take that martha stewart!  my goal this summer is to conquer fruit pies. this was my first attempt.  i’m pretty proud of myself.  i’ve never made a pie that had an upper crust to it, must work on creating pretty designs for upper crust.  also problem to solve ……filling to running.

RECIPE

Greek-style penne pasta with chickpeas

Ingredients

12oz box of penne pasta

150z can chickpeas-drained

7oz jar roasted red peppers-drained and sliced

6oz jar marinated quartered artichoke hearts

1/2 cup sliced scallions (i’d substitute red onions personally)

1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives

2 cloves garlic minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1Tbsp greek seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. in a large saucepan boil pasta according to directions on box. (tip under-cook the pasta just a little because it’ll continue to cook in when you add it to the vegetables) meanwhile in a large skillet heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat, add in peppers, artichokes, onions, and olives. *

2.  drain pasta reserving about 1/2 cup of the water.  add pasta and water to vegetables, toss.  add in greek seasoning, salt and pepper.  allow to cook 5 minutes

3. plate pasta and garnish with feta crumbles

* if you were to add in chicken or prosciutto i’d recommend cooking it before the all the vegetables you can use the left over grease and olive oil as a base to cook the vegetables in.