Sausage and Pepper Penne Salad

We've been busy on the salads this week. This won't be the last one. This was a meaty, grilled winner, and could easily be modified using Italian or any other sausage or skipping the meat entirely. Go with what makes you happy. Also, this is a biggie—it served 7 of us as a main dish, so scale down as needed, or invite someone over to help.

Grilled Sausage and Pepper Penne Salad

2 pounds fresh kielbasa, grilled to perfection

3 bell peppers, various colors, roasted or grilled, then diced

1 pound penne, cooked and drained

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 cup shredded cheese

Dressing:

1/2 cup [light] mayonnaise

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste

salt and pepper

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss together. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over, then mix well. Want more mayo? Add it. Need a little more vinegar tang like I did? pour it in! This is a great salad for using up leftovers.

Quick Tomato Salad

We had this last night with a roasted chicken, and it was summer heaven. Make it now.

Tomato Salad

2 quarts grape or cherry tomatos, halved

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2-1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

up to 1/4 cup fresh sage, or to taste, chopped

drizzle olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix and serve. You might want to start easy on the sage and add more if you have a hankering. It can be overwhelming if you overdo it. Try to make the salad about 1/2 hour before you want to eat it so it will settle, mellow, and blend.

It's summer in a bowl.