Apple Sausage with Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Autumn, my favorite season, is finally here. I love the crisp temperatures cooling down and the leaves turning vibrant shades of yellow, red, and orange. Most of all, the local farm stand has baskets filled with no-wax apples and giant sweet potatoes. I purchased a large amount of both items and decided to make a lunch dish for the work week.

When making for something to take to work, I would like it to last at least three to four days. Plus, it is beneficial for it to be easy because I am usually making it on a school night when I have to get up early to teach the next day. Easy meals with little or no fuss are the best. 

In addition to ease, I also need it to be healthy. I have been trying a whole “eat to live” approach this year, as opposed to “living to eat.” I still love to eat, please don’t misunderstand, I am just learning to love eating healthy. This is a relatively new idea for me, after thirty years of eating a diet that increased my waistline. Embracing fresh organic produce has filled me with energy, motivation, and happiness. 

This particular dish was both sweet and savory. I loved the blend of the sausage combined with the apple and sweet potatoes. I also added some dill and onion to break up the sweetness of the other ingredients. Then, the maple syrup tied all of the components together. It was hearty treat. 

When I began to type this recipe out, I realized that it seems a little long. The steps are short, and there is a lot of down time because the ingredients are roasting. The most cumbersome aspect of the dish is all of the chopping. Once that is completed, it’s a piece of cake!

Apple Sausage with Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes and Carrots Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
4 carrots, halved and sliced
1 yellow or white onion, quartered 
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus more to drizzle
3 medium apples, sliced 
4 Chicken Apple Sausage Links (Aidell’s is my favorite)
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Mix the potatoes, carrots, onion, and dill together in a bowl. Add the olive oil and toss the ingredients to fully coat them.

3.  Layer the oil coated vegetables on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast the vegetables in the heated oven for 20 minutes. 

4. While the potatoes, carrots, and onions are baking, slice the apples and place them in the same bowl that contained the vegetable mixture. Swirl the apples around to lightly coat them in oil and dill. Add more if needed.

5. After the vegetables have baked for 20 minutes, add the apples to the pan. Continue baking in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

6. While the apples and vegetables are baking, place the sausages in a skillet. Fill the skillet with water until sausages are at least half way covered. Boil the sausages for ten minutes. 

7. When sausages have finished, drain the water from the pan and allow sausages to cool. Slice the sausages into half inch rounds. Place sausage rounds into serving bowl.

8. When vegetables and apples have finished baking, allow to cool for five minutes. Then, add mixture to the bowl with the sausage. 

9. Drizzle maple syrup over the mixture and stir.