When my sister-in-law booked a flight to come see (to meet!) Shea, we couldn’t wait! It just so happened that her visit would fall a few weeks before Thanksgiving and thus in lieu of a trip home for Thanksgiving. Seattle is one long trip, no doubt.
Being the foodie that I am and always looking for opportunities to entertain and cook for others, I quickly thought that an early Thanksgiving meal with her would be a great idea. There’s no poor excuse for an early Thanksgiving feast, right?
That is unless you have a newbaby…or something.
It came as no surprise to her that after Shea’s arrival, the idea of a Thanksgiving feast quickly became a daunting, overwhelming and unlikely event. It’s a chore to make (and eat!) a simple meal these days, much less what I had dreamed up…
It’s a good thing I’m a huge fan of the all-in-one meals. You know, the meals where you get your starch, protein, and vegetable all in one delicious bite. Laziness? Balance? Hmmm.
It’s efficient and just very…me. And perhaps it creates a few less dishes. But I’m not so sure.
Sadly, it wasn’t until after her departure from us that I sat down to put my (lazy, new mom) Thanksgiving wheels in motion. As our house has been filled with scents of wood fires and hot tea, it was time for some savory goodness. It was time to enjoy some fall flavors from my friends at McCormick and whip up something comforting and so very festive for this time of year.
My Thanksgiving meal would never be complete without sweet potatoes. While my family generally goes the sweet route with sweet potatoes, I veered from that and went with savory paprika and spicy cayenne. To that I added my favorite fall vegetable – brussels sprouts, and some decadent gorgonzola cheese. The chicken sausage adds protein and completes this Thanksgiving-esque dish will all the festival fall flavors (and colors!) presented in a balanced, filling meal.
So while I won’t be preparing Thanksgiving this year, Thanksgiving flavors are most certainly being enjoyed already 😀
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 lb brussels sprouts, halved (quartered if large)
- ½ onion, roughly chopped
- 4 pieces nitrate-free bacon, chopped
- 12 oz andouille chicken sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a small dish, combine the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, sage, and cayenne; mix well and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potato with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix to distribute. Sprinkle diced potatoes with 2 teaspoons of the spice mixture and toss again; transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes; remove from oven.
- In the same medium bowl, combine the brussels sprouts, onion, and bacon; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss well. Sprinkle with remaining spice mixture and toss well. Add the brussels sprouts mixture to the pan with the sweet potatoes and toss to distribute. Bake for 12-15 minutes; remove from oven.
- To the baking sheet, add the sausage and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with gorgonzola. Serve immediately.
Be sure to check out other ideas for Holiday Party Recipes!
Michigan is getting DUMPED on with snow. Booooo 🙁
Be well,
Yummmm! I love the savory/spicy take on sweet potatoes ๐
absolutely scrumptious, hope you aren’t getting too dumped with snow :).
Yes!! This looks SO great. I am also in the market for really simple meals lately, and my husband and I both love all these ingredients. Yum yum yum.
By the way, did you use the already-cooked chicken sausages here?
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Hey girl! Yep, pre-cooked chicken andouille ๐
Just made it! It was great. I wasn’t able to find andouille so I used chicken apple sausage. This was a lot of food even for my largest baking pan, so I think my veggies steamed a bit. I added chopped pecans on top for crunch. Perfect!!
I made this last night, or well… I used your meal as inspiration and followed your method, but switched things up a bit to suit my needs ๐ I used sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, sausage (a different variety) and seasoned with garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, and S&P. I just loved the combo of sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and sausage! It was such a simple meal, but really full of flavor and texture. I can easily see this being a good “clean out the fridge” kind of meal by roasting a different variety of veggies. Tossing the sausage in the mix really makes it a meal. Thanks for sharing!