Playgroup lunch

Our playgroup meets every Monday and we each take turns hosting. I hosted this past Monday and was having a hard time coming up with a lunch menu. Thanks to my dear friend, Melanie, I was able to serve these two great dishes below. (Oh, and thanks to Mel's friend, Naphtali, for the orzo recipe.)

Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad
1 lb. orzo pasta
vegetable or chicken stock
2 lemons, juiced
olive oil
fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted
1 pkg. feta cheese
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 egglplants, chopped
2 yellow peppers, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
2 red onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
-Roast pince nuts at 400 degrees for 1 minute.
-Place the chopped eggplant, yellow/red peppers, red onion and garlic on two rimmed cookie sheets. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping periodicallly.
-Cook orzo pasta in vegetable or chicken stock according to box directions. Drain and stir to prevent sticking.
-Combine orzo and roasted veggies and let cool.
-For dressing, combine 1/3 cup olive oil, juice of 2 lemons, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over orzo and veggies.
-Top salad with scallions, roasted pine nuts, feta, and fresh basil. Serve.


Mini Fruit Pizzas
1 pkg(24 count)sugar cookies break and bake
cream cheese frosting
fruit of choice (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi)
Bake cookies according to package. Cool, then frost each cookie. Cut fruit into small pieces. Arrange several types of fruit on each cookie.