Greek Orzo Salad

I have tried a few of Rachael Ray's Recipes and not really been too happy with them, but I found this one in her magazine last month and thought it sounded good.  Well, we weren't disappointed because it was really tasty.  I have made it two times, once with Chicken and Veggie Kebabs and most Recently along side some nice tasty grilled steaks.  It was a perfect compliment to both meals!  I didn't put as much celery as she said and I added grape tomatoes sliced in half to the salad.  It was better this way so I'm going to add it to the recipe. 

Greek Orzo Salad
Recipe by Rachael Ray
Serves 4 (served 4 adults and 3 kids with a little left over)

Ingredients:
Salt and Pepper
2 Small Lemons
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/4 cups (8 oz.) of Orzo Pasta, which is Half of a bag.
2 full stalks of Fresh celery including the greens (the greens have a lot of flavor, chop them well though)
1 chunk (4 oz.) Feta Cheese (this is half a package from the store, but you can make the salad twice.  I love that.)
8 Kalamata Olives, oil packed with herbs (I used black olives because the kalamata's were pricy.  Plus I hate olives, no one seemed to care)


Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil and add 2 tsp of salt.  Add the orzo to the boiling water and cook, stirring often, according to the directions on the package.  While the orzo is cooking, in the bowl you want to serve the salad in finely zest the 2 lemons.  Remember to not add the white part of the skin as it is bitter.  Add the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to the zest.  Mix well and set aside.


Slice the celery lenghtwise and then chop into small pieces, you should have about 1 cup.  Cut the grape tomatoes and olives in half.


When the orzo is cooked, drain it in a strainer and rinse well with cold water.  Add the cooled orzo to the bowl with the lemon oil and toss.  


To finish, add the cut veggies and crumble the feta cheese into the salad.  Gently toss the orzo to coat all the ingredients with the lemon oil and serve.