Chicken Orzo Salad

It's kind of hard for me to call this one a recipe... it's more of an idea or suggestion because you could add so many different ingredients to adjust it to your families tastes and preferences. Still, this is one of my FAVORITE summer dinners because it's fast, easy, cool and can use up a myriad of leftovers!

The salad you see pictured above was just that... a concoction that was born of my wanting to clean out the refrigerator. A little of this and a little of that and I ended up with a really delicious salad to feed the family.

For this version I used:

16 oz Box orzo pasta- prepared according to package directions.
3 Cups leftover roasted chicken, chopped
4 Hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 Medium red bell peppers, chopped
1 Cup blanched fresh peas (just barely cooked frozen would work in a pinch)
1 Bunch green onions, chopped
1 Small red onion, chopped
3 Ribs celery, chopped
1 Container whole grape tomatoes

For the dressing:

2-3 Cups mayonnaise
2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Bunch cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

We like our salads very creamy, so I used a good bit of mayo... you can tailor the amount to your liking.

I hope you'll try this "fridge cleaner" yourself and see what you come up with! Change up the shape of pasta or the type of meat and vegetables. A prepared dressing could substitute for the mayo or even leftover plain white rice for the pasta. Add some diced cheese for something different. So many possibilities!