Baked Sausage and Sweet Potatoes

Serves 4

This sausage and potato recipe is typical of everyday Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. It is very versatile. You can use fresh or smoked pork, chicken or turkey sausage, sweet or white potatoes, red or green peppers and other herbs or spices. I do not recall either of my grandmothers using mushrooms, but I like them. I believe they would have used fresh parsley in this dish, but I opted for thyme and sage, which I know they sometimes added to other recipes. And, of course, they never had access to olive or canola oil and probably never heard of them, at least not in the early years. This is a quick, easy and delicious main dish casserole. All you need for a complete meal is a salad on the side.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or smoked link sausage, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried or rubbed sage leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive, canola or other vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine all ingredients in a baking pan sprayed with cooking oil spray, adding just enough olive oil to the mixture to coat slightly. Toss well. Cover tightly and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately, or tent with foil and keep warm for up to twenty minutes.