Cheri's DF GF Chicken Sausage Pasta

Ingredients

--1 pkg Applegate Farms (or any other pre-cooked brand) apple chicken sausage (Italian flavor works well, too)
--2 tsp garlic
--1 large onion, chopped
--1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
--1 pkg brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta, lentil pasta, or bean pasta (we like Tinkyada and Jovial brands) Use any shape you like! We usually use spaghetti or fettucini.
--1 container of cherry tomatoes, washed w/ each tomato halved or quartered
--1/2 bunch of fresh basil, roughly cut to be about 1/2 cup worth
--optional: 1 green or red pepper, cut to the same size as the tomatoes

Directions

1. While pasta is cooking to an al-dente texture in a separate pot, in a large saucepan saute onion and garlic in approx. 1 tablespoon of olive oil

2. Cut sausages into bite-sized pieces, then add to pan. The flavor of the sausages changes when they are fully heated, so take the time to get them very hot.

3. Add cut cherry tomatoes and basil to pan, mix to get hot and slightly softer, then take pan off heat. Mix cooked pasta into loose ingredients, along with 1/8 cup of olive oil.

4. Salt to taste. Good hot or as cold leftovers.

** If using optional green or red pepper, cut to the same size as the tomatoes and add to the pan a minute or two after the onion.

** Some small chunks of fresh mozzarella would probably be amazing in this if you are not needing dairy-free!