Spicy Summer Salad

Thanks to my talented, generous mom with a green thumb, my fridge is (well, I should say was) overflowing with produce right now.  I LOVE it all, but sometimes I get overwhelmed with how to use it all up in a timely manner.  Well, here's a suggestion:  use it all in one delicious, healthy, easy pasta salad.  My mom even gave me this idea, too!

Below is the original recipe she sent me, along with glowing recommendations from her and my dad.  However, I used what I had in the fridge and pantry--namely leftover grilled chicken, baked pepper bacon, leftover cooked angel hair pasta, jalepeno pepper, green pepper, garlic, zucchini, white onion, corn on the cob, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and lots of different herbs.  I also decided to sautee most of my veggies (except the tomatoes) first. My point is this...the recipe below isn't so much a formula as it is a method or starting point.  So, use up what you have and get creative!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Here is what my salad (which I could not stop eating!) ended up looking like:

Spicy Summer Salad

Makes:  a lot!
From: My mom (via her friend Ann Sprengel)

8 oz Rotini cooked
1 12 oz package breakfast sausage cooked and crumbled (I used Andoulle)
1 15 ½ oz drained kidney bean
1 can drained black beans
1 8 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 medium tomatos chopped and seeded
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
½ cup green onions (I used regular onion and sautéed it with the sausage)
½ cup black olives chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare Rotini and drain.  Cook sausage until brown and break it up.
In large bowl mix rotini, sausage, and ingredients above.

In a small bowl mix the following:

1 10 oz can of RoTel diced tomatoes
¼ cup veg oil
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp basil leaves.

Add the RoTel mix to the pasta/sausage mix.  Toss to coat. Cover. Chill thoroughly.  Toss gently before serving.