Ingredients:
2 lb freshly steamed, peeled shrimp, halved
1 carrot, diced
1/4 cup halved Kalamata olives
1 seedless cucumber, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta
10 oz cooked, small pasta

for the dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss. Whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Pour the dressing over the mixture and stir to coat and evenly distribute all ingredients. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 day prior to serving.

My thoughts:

My husband’s class schedule changed this summer and he is now working from home two days a week which means we are eating an early lunch before he goes to an afternoon class, then he is back for a while and we have dinner before he heads out to another class. One day a week he goes to class directly from work and packs both lunch and dinner. All of this school really poses some challenges when it comes to meal planning! This semester is working out the best, I’ve been making a “big” meal for lunch (with leftovers for the next day lunch) and then something lighter for dinner that preferably can be taken for the next day’s dinner. Since he has limited time and can’t heat any food for dinner, we’ve been having a lot of fun sandwiches with goodies from the Italian market or cold salads like this one.

I’ve made a ton of pasta salads over the years so I am always trying to mix it up a bit. This time I went vaguely Greek. No tomatoes because they are out of season (and make pasta salads soggy) but yummy cucumbers, red onion, Kalamata olives and feta for a vaguely Mediterranean twist.  I added the celery and carrots for extra crunch and to make it more of a complete, one-bowl meal. It was delicious the first day and just as good the next day after being refrigerated. Just take care to thoroughly drain the pasta and olives to avoid soggy salad.