Greek Rice and Herb Salad

This week has been so crazy with the move and we have ordered out every night! Last night Jay and I were just sick of ordering out so I tried this recipe which was so simple and easy to make. The rice took a little while to cook which gave me time to unpack some more things in the house and then go back to it! A nice flavorful meal to make when you want something easy as well!

*sorry for the lack of pictures...I was busy unpacking while it was cooking!*

Ingredients for the Rice:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups long grain rice, not converted (we used our regular long grain brown rice)

2 1/4 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until slightly toasted and golden. Stir in the water and salt, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 18 minutes. Then let the rice rest off the heat for 5 minutes - don't lift the lid to give a peek or stir or the rice will not cook evenly. Put the rice in a large serving bowl, fluff and separate the grains with a fork, and cool to room temperature. (don't refrigerate the rice or it will get grainy) *this is the way that we cooked the rice last night and I almost suggest to cook the rice your normal way first and then follow the directions for the salad. Our rice was really oily and I didn't feel like it was cooked through completely, but that is why we try and learn from it! :)*

Ingredients for Salad:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 ripe medium tomatoes

1 Kirby cucumber with peel, seeded and finely diced (we didn't have Kirby cucumbers and Jay likes the cucumber peeled!)

2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced

1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup minced fresh dill (I halved this and used dried)

1/4 cup minced fresh mint (we didn't use this)

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Freshly ground black pepper

Hot Pepper Sauce

1/2 cups coarse crumbled feta cheese (about 6 ounces)

Lemon wedges

Whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and allspice in a small bowl. Toss the dressing with the cooled rice. Halve the tomatoes crosswise to expose the seeds out of the flesh and discard. Cut the scallions, parsley, dill, mint, and lemon zest to the mixture and toss again. Season with pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste. Scatter the feta cheese across the top and serve, passing the lemon wedges.

Enjoy!