Oven-roasted Sausage and Potatoes

Ok, Sausage Fans. 

Here it is. The recipe. 

I would love to start this post off with how the weather is cooling off and it's starting to feel like fall. How I have my fall decorations out and the fall-scented candles burning. How I've made pumpkin dip and homemade applesauce from our trip to the orchard....

HOWEVER.....it's kind of hard to do when you live in the Midwest and it's 84 degrees on September 29! I had the AIR on yesterday! WHAT?!?

I digress.

I posted a picture of this recipe on my Facebook page when I made it for the first time. I had many people contact me about the recipe and comment on how good it looked. 

I would say this is one of the most popular recipes I've found so far.

 Right behind the Fiesta Salad.

My husband has been home for almost two months now and I have slowly gotten back into the swing of cooking throughout the week. Maybe just a night or two of noodles and cheese or frozen pizza. However, I have caught a break to some degree. Now that harvest has started, my husband doesn't come home until later, so I don't feel quite as much pressure to whip up a fabulous dinner. 

In all honesty, Chad is not hard to please. I think I could make grilled cheese and he'd still love it. He's very good at complimenting my cooking. I've trained him well...

This meal is extremely filling and equally delicious. I have made it twice now, the second time because my husband specifically requested it. The kids love it. I love it. 

Win for Mom!

The other nice thing about this recipe is that it's easy to throw together and easy to clean up.

Ok, let's do this. 

Here's what you need:

Sausage - any kind (I use kielbasa - you can get it at Aldi!), potatoes (we like red, but you can use any kind), sweet peppers, onion, banana peppers, olive oil, rosemary, and creole seasoning.

First preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil and make sure the cookie sheet has a decent sized lip on it. (This helps with the easy clean-up.)

Time to slice and dice.
Slice the sausage into bite-sized slices. You can do it the fancy way (using a "bias"cut - or a diagonal cut) or just slice it. Either way, it all tastes the same and looks the same coming out. (ha!)

Then cut your potatoes into 1/2" chunks. I leave the skin on. 

Next, slice up the onion and peppers into long skinny strips. 

Nicely done. Moving on. 

Place all the ingredients on the cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over them and then use your hands to toss them and get everything nicely coated. Come on! Time to get your hands dirty People

Next, sprinkle some salt and pepper and the spices (if you choose to use them) and then place the slices of banana peppers on top.

It's...so...*sniff*...pretty.

Time to pop that sucker in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. 

I feel like Homer Simpson looking at a donut...

So the first time I made this, I used the foil. The second time I forgot and just sprayed the sheet. I HIGHLY recommend using the foil. It makes clean-up much easier and I felt like the potatoes cooked better. They didn't get as burnt around the edges using the foil.

I also chose to use the seasoning. The first time...waaaaaaay too much rosemary. Ack. So I backed off a little with that the second time. And as for the creole seasoning....well, if you are anything like you are saying "What the heck is that?". I had to google it. It's basically just a mish-mosh of a bunch of different seasonings that you can use on pretty much anything: meat, potatoes, vegetables, soups, etc. 

Like many things, you can buy it or make it yourself. I just made it because that was easier and here is the recipe I used - Creole Seasoning.

  

P.S. this recipe makes A LOT of seasoning, so make some room in your spice cabinet...or maybe cut the recipe in half. In retrospect...I wish I had done that. 

Well, there it is. One of the best dinners I have come across to date. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family does. 

And feel free to get creative! Try different seasonings or vegetables and let me know if you find another great combination!

Oven Roasted Sausage and Potatoes

Original Recipe from Piarecipes.com

• 1 bell pepper - sliced
• 1lb package of sausage - whatever kind you prefer
• 4-5 potatoes - whatever kind you prefer
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small jar banana peppers
• 1/2-1 onion, sliced
• salt & pepper
• 2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)
• 1 tsp creole seasoning (optional) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line large cookie sheet with tin foil. Make sure to use a sheet with a "lip".
Slice sausage into thin slices.
Cut potatoes into 1/2" chunks.
Slice peppers and onion into long strips.
Place all ingredients on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with your hands to coat everything.
Add salt and pepper and seasoning, if you are using it.
Place banana peppers on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.