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1
Place zucchini, herbs, peppers, onions, and 1/4 cup dressing in a medium size bowl.
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2
Gently mix (I do this with my hands) to coat all vegetables with dressing.
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3
Refrigerate until ready to serve - this step can be done several hours ahead.
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Just before serving time, remove zucchini/veggie combination from refrigerator and transfer to serving platter or bowl.
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Sprinkle with peas, tomatoes and olives and drizzle with more dressing, to taste.
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Finish salad off by sprinkling with the Feta and pine nuts, if desired.
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Serve slightly cool or at room temperature.
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If serving as a dinner salad - Just before serving, slice chicken sausage into 1/4 inch slices, slice slightly on the diagonal.
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Heat a medium saute pan over medium high heat, add 2 teaspoons olive oil and swirl pan to coat bottom completely.
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Add sliced sausage and cook 1-2 minutes or until golden, then flip and repeat on other side.
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Remove from heat and add to salad.
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Serves 6-8 as a side salad or 4 as a dinner salad.
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Notes:.
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*To slice zucchini, first make sure your vegetable peeler is fairly sharp - the first time I tried this it was a pain (and a mess)!
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I realized that my vegetable peeler was quite old and dull.
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I purchased a new one and the slicing was a breeze; cut stem and base ends off of zucchini and place on a flat surface.
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Slice a thin strip off of one long edge and turn zucchini over so cut surface is now on the bottom.
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This gives you a flat surface so the zucchini won't roll.
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Using a vegetable peeler, cut thin strips or ribbons of zucchini.
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Slice 3 or 4 strips on the first side, then rotate back to other side and continue slicing until you get to the seedy middle and what's left is too thin to slice anymore.
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Discard the core.
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**If you haven't tried chicken sausage you're missing out on a wonderful secret.
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Chicken sausages come in all kinds of flavor combinations, you need to try a few and find your favorites.
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There are several things I love about these sausages - they are low fat, most of the time between 3-5 grams of saturated fat and 110-160 calories per sausage.
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They usually have a ton of protein, anywhere from 12-18 grams!
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That means they keep you satiated for a long time!
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They are also just plain delicious and can be grilled, sauteed, used in pizzas, panninis, sandwiches, quiches, etc.
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etc.
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I always have some of these in my freezer.
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Currently, my favorite is the Three Cheese variety from Sam's Club (15 gm.
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of protein with only 130 calories).
