Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad

It's becoming a trend, this whole "take my lunch to work"thing...

Are you getting tired of hearing about it?

I hope not because I really want to tell you about this orzo salad. I made a batch on Sunday and packaged it all up in individual serving containers. All I have to do this week is toss one in my bag, with a few other items and I'm all set for lunch.

This all came together so quickly...

First, some orzo, which is a teeny-tiny pasta that almost looks like rice.

But it's not. It's pasta.

I had some broccoli on hand...

...and a big red bell pepper.

I chopped those up into manageable pieces before steaming them.

You could just toss them in the salad raw, but I like them steamed just a little bit.

Last, I made a lemon vinaigrette-- here is a good recipe for one, although I left out the shallot and mustard in mine. Mine was pretty simple.

Finally, I just tossed it all together and it ended up looking like this...

After I took this picture I added some shredded Parmesan cheese, which I highly recommend.

Here's an aerial view...

This is a simple, light lunch (or dinner) with subtle flavors-- nothing in it is too overpowering. I enjoyed alongside of some roasted red pepper soup. 

Very tasty and kind of healthy, I think.