Quick Warm Pasta Salad with Vegetables & Kielabasa

By orchidgirl1979

What to make for dinner? That's a question I ask myself often. Last night Anna and I were just walking through the aisles of the grocery store, without a clear idea of what to make for dinner...and then she came up with an idea: arugula salad with tomatoes. By the time we came home, the idea grew into Pasta Salad with Fresh Arugula, Tomatoes, Feta, and Sauteed Kielbasa.

Ingredients

• bow-tie pasta
• 1/2 bunch fresh arugula, torn into pieces and washed well
• 2 tomatoes, cubed
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, more for drizzling
• kielbasa, sliced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• red pepper flakes to taste

Details

Adapted from mangotomato.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) Cook pasta according to directions on the box.
2) In a bowl combine arugula, tomatoes and feta.
3) In a small pan cook kielbasa and onions in 2 teaspoons of olive oil, seasoning with red pepper flakes.
4) Add hot, drained pasta and kielbasa to the vegetable mixture, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

This salad can have many variations: use chicken instead of kielbasa; add olives and/or sundried tomatoes; add spinach instead of arugula; add any herbs that are in season; use any kind of vegetable you like (asparagus, red peppers, zucchini, etc.); use orzo or even rice instead of pasta (yes, I know orzo is pasta).