Quick Warm Pasta Salad with Vegetables & Kielbasa

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


Directions
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).

This was a relatively light, but satisfying dinner (and I had leftovers for lunch). And for dessert, we had Dark Chocolate & Pomagranate ice cream!

P.S. kielbasa is one of my least favorite words!