Family Bites: Orzo “Crazins” Salad

This week, I am honored to be the featured blogger on Foodbuzz Family Bites section with a collection of family-friendly easy-to-make lunches, snacks/salads, and dinners. These dishes are some of our all-time favorites that I regularly make, tweaking the recipes each time, adding or substituting ingredients depending on the season or what I may have on hand. For the Family Bites, all the recipes utilize the excellent products by Newman’s Own®. There are nine dishes total and I will be sharing them all this week in separate posts. First up is the Orzo "Crazins" Salad.



This salad is named for the dried cranberry “raisins” called “crazins”. It is such a colorful, festive salad and is easy to make a day ahead.

Ingredients: (4-6 servings)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped red pepper
2/3 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups cooked orzo
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Newman’s Own® Olive Oil & Vinegar Salad Dressing

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until onions become pale golden.

In a large bowl, add onion-pepper mixture, cooked orzo, carrots, and dried cranberries. Season the salad with Newman’s Own® Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing. Refrigerate for a few hours prior to serving.