Tuna Orzo Salad
(adapted from Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine, April 2007)

• 3 cups low-sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth


• 1 cup orzo


• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar


• 1/8 cup olive oil*


• salt and pepper


• two 6-ounce cans of water-packed albacore tuna, drained and broken up with a fork


• one 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained


• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half


• 1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped


• half of a red onion, finely chopped


• 1/2 cup fresh basil or parsley


• 1/2 cup reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the orzo and cook until al dente (7 or 8 minutes). Drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, season the vinegar with salt and pepper, and mix until the salt dissolves. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the orzo to the dressing and toss to mix.

Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, basil, and tuna to the orzo. Top the salad with the feta cheese.

Makes 4 servings.
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To cut calories and fat even more, one might sub out water for the chicken broth and use fat free feta cheese. Enjoy!

*Or however much olive oil one might have drained from 2 6-oz cans of oil-packed tuna. My suggestion is to drain the water-packed tuna (which is much lower in fat/calories), measure the amount of liquid, and use a little less oil than that. I didn't have the foresight to measure the amount of oil I put in; I just eyeballed it (Oops). I also added some Italian seasoning and a little bit of oil (like 1/2 a Tbsp) to the tuna before adding it to the salad this last time I made it, just to give it a little more flavor.