Recipe and photography by Isis Heuser with Chew on This blog.

Serves 6-8, about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 14.5 oz stars pasta
• 1 package Mountain View Meats Mild Smoked Sausage, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Creamy dressing:

• 3/4 cup ranch dressing, use your favorite bottled or homemade
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Black pepper, to taste
• Lemon juice or pickle juice, only if needed at the end

Instructions:

1. Pasta. Cook in salted water until just past al dente. Drain, rinse with cool water.

2. Sausage. Brown the slices in a skillet over medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes until browned. Cool.

3. Dressing. Whisk ranch, Dijon, and smoked paprika together.

4. Toss. In a large bowl, combine pasta, sausage, pepper, tomatoes, onion and cheese. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat.

5. Chill. 20 minutes in the fridge is ideal. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and add a squeeze of lemon or a splash of pickle juice if you want it brighter, and black pepper to finish.