Hello Fall

The air is now cool and crisp in the mornings. The leaves on the trees are beginning to change colors and fall to the ground. The 'ber months have officially begun. In honor of the season change and a very exciting start to autumn, I will be sharing a fall-inspired recipe today that is simple and delicious. This is my fall-inspired sheet pan meal. This is a crowd-pleasing recipe that makes six servings. The recipe is also kid friendly even being approved my kids who are very picky eaters. This is also an economical meal as the ingredients are fairly inexpensive and easy to source from a grocery store and/or garden. It is nutrient dense and packed with healthy ingredients. It is my hope that sharing this recipe and others like it will help solve the age-old question, "What's for dinner?" Leftovers from this sheet pan meal also serve as a delicious, quick, and easy lunch for the next day. This meal should be eaten within three days of it being prepared to ensure the freshest flavor.

The items needed for this recipe are as follows:

1 small head of broccoli or a 12-ounce bag of frozen broccoli (The broccoli can remain frozen. It does not have to be thawed prior to making this recipe. It will thaw and cook in the roasting process.)

1 butternut squash (peeled and deseeded)

1 medium white onion (peeled) (One medium red onion can also be used here. It is important to note, however, that red onion has a slightly stronger flavor. White onion has a milder flavor which is why I use it here. Using white onion here makes the sheet pan meal more palatable for my kids.)

1 package of Marketside Chicken Apple Sausage (The package contains four sausages.)

1 teaspoon of McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple Seasoning or any seasoning of choice

1/4 cup of vegetable oil or any neutral oil of choice

The process for preparing this recipe is listed below.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Dice the vegetables and sausages into one-inch cubes (bite-sized pieces), as pictured above, and place on a sheet pan. Add oil and seasoning to vegetables and sausages on the sheet pan. Mix to coat vegetables and sausages with oil and seasonings (with either a spatula or clean hands). Spread mixture into an even layer on the sheet pan. Bake for 20–25 minutes flipping the mixture with a spatula halfway through the cook time to ensure even cooking. The vegetables should be roasted evenly, and the sausage should be crisp and flavorful. This can be enjoyed as a stand-alone meal or served with white rice as a side. Any type of white rice would work as a wonderful side dish, but I have used long-grain white rice to keep the meal economical, affordable, and to ensure that all of the ingredients remain easy to source. If serving this sheet pan meal with rice, the rice should be washed and cooked separately from the sheet pan meal and following the provided instructions listed on the package of rice. The rice can either be cooked on a stove top in a saucepan or in a rice cooker. Begin cooking the rice directly after placing sheet pan meal in the oven to ensure that all of the food cooks at the same time and that everything is served warm at the appointed mealtime.

*Two large sweet potatoes can be used in the place of butternut squash in this recipe if desired. The sweet potatoes should be peeled and diced into one-inch cubes (bite-sized pieces) as the picture above shows.