Recipe: Summer Vegetable Orzo Salad

I'm trying earnestly to get back to cooking.  My mom is nothing short of a Gourmet and spoiled me and my family intensely with her ever changing meals growing up.  By the time my youngest sister Rachel was in high school and Erin and I were in college she was even cooking different breakfasts every morning.  She cooks a less-than-five-star meal maybe once a year.  She's that good.

SO I have a lot to live up to :) I know I don't have to but honestly I do love cooking and while I am a completely different type of cook than my mom {she researches amazing recipes and cooks several different "things" per meal...I usually am inspired-by-then-wing-it or make up my recipes and have a self-imposed rule that I only "recipe" one item and the other items are things like "salad." or "butter beans." or "rice." or I just stick to the one-dish-ers}, I strive to make it a regular priority like she did with my growing family as the years go by.


I don't know if these things are even cooked by any of you, but I share these recipes because they are easy, taste good, and personally I am inspired by things I read on blogs or pinterest {...or instagram {TESSA!}} so I feel the need to share right back.  Digital age cookbooks.

The following was just what I was craving this past Sunday after a big after-church lunch at Cracker Barrel.
A light and healthy summer supper:

Ingredients:
one zuchinni, quartered lengthwise
4oz baby portabella mushrooms, on a skewer
one small red onion, sliced in 1/4" slices
one red bell pepper, seeded, quartered {or third-ed depending on the type of bell pepper} and pressed flat
3/4 carton grape tomatoes, halfed
can garbanzo beans {chickpeas} drained and rinsed
1/2 box orzo pasta {bc its what I had...you could easily do a whole box and make much more.  It keeps wonderfully in the refrigerator for a couple days and heats up easily in the microwave}
2 lemons
olive oil
hot sauce {such as Tabasco, I used Cholula}
cumin
salt
pepper
parsley

Grill zuchinni, skewered mushrooms, onion, and red bp and turn until crispy grill marks are made on all sides {more the better!}
Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain
Chop grilled vegetables and mix with orzo.
Mix in halved tomatoes, garbanzo beans, juice of 2 lemons, 3TBS olive oil, many dashes of hot sauce, maybe a teaspoon of cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
Taste and add any ingredient you are lacking.
Top with chopped parsley.

To me, the chickpeas add the protein of a meat to the meal, but if your husband asks "where's the meat" {like mine did!} then it would grilled chicken breasts or thighs seasoned simply with salt and pepper would accompany it nicely. 

Summer at it's best!