What's for dinner? Salad. Again.

We tend to eat dinner rather late (like 8 or 9 pm -- gasp!), as my honey works hell-acious hours. I want to eat with him but don't want a heavy meal so late in the evening. He comes home starving. 

The solution: a light yet satisfying meal. Hence, we have salad for dinner several times a week.

I recently stumbled on this product from Trader Joe's, Harvest Grains Blend. It contains Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. I played with ways of fixing it and this make-ahead salad is a winner. The recipe makes about three and a half 1 cup servings but you can always add more veggies to make it go a little further or to clean out your veggie drawer. And the left-overs, if there are any, are awesome.

What you'll need:

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute

1 cup Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped, peeled, and seeded cucumber
1/2 cup chopped orange or yellow pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 ½ tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
1/4 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Optional: add cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp

What you'll do:

Bring water and seasoning to a boil. Add Harvest Grains Blend. Bring back to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove cover and allow to stand until all the  liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

In a large serving bowl, lightly toss grain blend, sun-dried tomatoes, and veggies. Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice and the additional seasoning. Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Cover and refrigerate. Top with feta cheese just before serving.

You could substitute fresh chopped tomatoes for the sun-dried ones, but I think the sweet, rich flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes is part of what makes this salad special.