CEiMB: Tri Color Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts & Feta

Happy Saturday all!  Today has been a fantastic day doing a little relaxing, a lot of Food Network Watching and testing some fun new recipes in the kitchen. 

I am a little off on my Craving Ellie in My Belly Recipes.  I actually thought that this week’s recipe was Ellie’s Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts & Feta hosted by Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table.   Um, they are all making Cioppino ~ oops

I decided to give the Eating Right Wheat Pasta (not whole wheat, but, loaded with whole grains) a try since I wanted the colors.

I measured out 1/2 a pound of pasta and prepared the pasta a dente (10 minutes), according to the box directions.

Then, “roasted” some roughly chopped walnuts over medium heat in a nonstick pan for 5-7 minutes.

While the pasta and nuts cooked, I chopped up my veggies ~ spinach & red onion.

I usually use Trader Joe’s Fat Free Feta or another cheese whenever recipes call for “stinky” cheeses.  However, I decided to be brave and get the real deal.

The stats were not too bad so why go fat free.  I did learn though after one taste, it’s a lot more “feta-y” than the fat free version.

After I cooled my walnuts a little, I added them along with the feta to the “pasta” bowl.

Ellie’s recipe calls for Walnut Oil.  I didn’t have any, but, I did have Macadamia Nut Oil I have been wanting to try out.

I LOVE the FLAVOR ~ it seriously tastes just like roasted macadamia nuts.  I can definitely see this making an appearance in some homemade salad dressings and possibly stir-fries.

The consistency is a little funky, but, it’s probably because I store it in the fridge to keep it from becoming rancid to quickly. 

After your pasta is finished cooking, drain, rinse in cold water and put it in the fridge to “chill” it before adding it to the mix.

The “dressing” is pretty simple, yet, completely loaded with flavors ~ Macadamia Nut Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Minced Garlic and a little Spicy Dijon Mustard.

Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.

Overall, the pasta salad was pretty tasty and super easy to make ~ start to finish took maybe 20 minutes.  The walnuts make the flavor really rich, but, the feta and dressing make me think it’s a Greek like pasta salad.

The Husband and I both agreed this would’ve been AWESOME with some BACON & TOMATOES in it

Then again, doesn’t bacon make everything better?!

Recipe #2 is coming up tomorrow ~ here is a sneak peak…..Any ideas on what it is???

Off to finish watching The Pioneer Woman’s Thanksgiving Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  I am so glad they are re-playing it since I missed it on Wednesday.

Night all!