Greek Summer Salad

This is my adaptation of the Greek "village" salad. I believe the customary tradition is to use olive oil as dressing, but I was looking for something creamy when I sat down to make the salad. If you can find it, I recommend using Uncle Dan's Mediterranean Garlic dressing mix (usually found near the ranch dressing mixes) and making your own dressing as directed instead of using premade Caesar dressing. I've only listed Caesar because it is the closest comparable dressing that I can think of. The cooking time listed is the amount of time the salad needs to chill.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup  caesar salad dressing
• 1⁄2 lb cherry tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1  cucumber, cubed
• 1⁄4 cup onion, diced
• 1⁄4 cup kalamata olive (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the dressing and balsamic vinegar together for a minute or two until well combined.
2. Add the other ingredients. There is no order that works best here; the dish is meant to be a simple and rustic one.
3. If you are using the olives, feel free to add them at this time. My husband isn't fond of olives, so when I make this dish, I typically add them to my portion alone so that he doesn't have to "weed" them out. If there are no picky eaters in your family then just toss them in!
4. Toss the salad until all the ingredients are coated in the dressing.
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. This will give the dressing time to thicken up and further coat the other ingredients.
6. Serve and enjoy! This is a great compliment to just about any dish and is wonderful for those summer meals when you're looking for something nice and cool to relax with!