School started here last week for us so it was pretty busy as every tried to get back onto their routines of getting up early and starting the day, especially Sean. It is no easy task getting a 15-year old up and out of bed before 6 AM to get ready for school, but so far it has worked out just fine. Just as Sean gets back into his routine, it means that I have to try to get back into one myself. It means trying to get all my work done in the early part of the day so I can have more time to do things around the house, including getting dinner prepared each day. That’s why September (or really any month of the school year) is a great time to start pulling out those one dish meals. I have been making a lot of sheet pan suppers lately. They are easy to do, give you everything you want all in one pan, and make clean up a real breeze so I don’t have to spend a lot of time cleaning afterwards. Sheet pan suppers are ideal for just about anything – beef, chicken, fish, pork, turkey or even just vegetables – and it really all is a matter of timing everything right and chopping everything to a uniform size so all the ingredients cook at the same rate and are done at the same time. I came across this recipe from Food Network for a sausage sheet pan supper from Ree Drummond and thought I would give it a try.
Sheet Pan Sausage Dinner
1 pound trimmed whole Brussels sprouts
3 parsnips, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
2 red onions, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Sprinkle of kosher salt
Sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
12 Italian sausages
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Add the Brussels sprouts, parsnips, sweet potatoes and onions to a baking sheet. Add the olive oil, sage, salt and pepper and toss all of the vegetables together so they are well coated with the oil and the spices. Prick the sausages with a fork and then put the sausages in and around the vegetables on the sheet pan.
Bake the mixture in the oven until the sausages are cooked through and the vegetables are tender and nicely roasted, about 40 to 45 minutes, turning the sausages about half way through the cooking process. Serve together on a platter.
That’s all there is to this recipe. I find pricking the sausages works well so that they don’t burst in the casings and let some of the fat run out to flavor the vegetables a bit more. While turning them half way through cooking might seem unnecessary, I like to do it so the sausages get nicely browned all over. You can also mix up the vegetables a bit at the same time you turn the sausages so you can get more even browning on them as well. Roasting vegetables is my favorite way to prepare them since I think they get better flavor this way. You can vary the mix of vegetables if you like, but you may want to stick to items that are a little bit thicker if you are cooking everything together so that the vegetables do not overcook and burn before the meat is done. Carrots would work pretty well here, along with vegetables like cauliflower, squash, fennel or beets.I actually used a couple of carrots in my recipe.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
onedadskitchen 