Chicken Sausage Pasta Salad

*I used brat-style flavored chicken sausages from Costco. They come in lots of different flavors, but jalapeno/mango is one of our favorites!

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and then pour it into a large bowl, and drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking. Set aside.

In a large skillet, sear the chicken sausages until they are browned and heated through. (Alternately, you can leave them whole, grill them, and then dice them up!) Place them in the fridge to chill while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Into the pasta bowl, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella (I used string cheese, because that’s what I had on hand!).

While stirring, drizzle in the olive oil until everything is nicely coated, then squeeze fresh lemon juice, to taste, into the salad.

Stir in the sausage and garlic powder, and season to taste with the peppers.

Garnish with fresh chopped flat leaf parsley or another fresh herb. (Cilantro would have been good in this because of the jalapeno/mango sausage!)

Store this salad in the fridge, and really… it only tastes better the longer it sits!