Italian Pasta Salad with Sausage and Olives

Step 1

Wipe mushrooms clean, and place in a small dish or plastic baggie with the diced tomatoes and with about 1/2 cup dressing to marinate. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high. Quickly sear sausages until heated through and outsides have nice char marks on them.

Step 2

Let the sausage cool, and cut up the sausage into bite-sized pieces.

Step 3

Place the mushrooms on a skewer (or a couple skewers, if necessary), and quickly sear on the grill. You just want a little heat on these, and some grill marks. We aren't aiming to fully cook these.

Step 4

Slice the mushrooms in half, and set aside.

Step 5

Combine the pasta, cheese, olives, basil, mushrooms, sausage, tomatoes and the desired amount of dressing (reserve about 1/4 - 1/3 cup for dressing immediately before serving.) Stir to coat everything evenly, and chill for 1-2 hours before serving.