Sausage, Apple, Zoodles and More Tray Bake

With summer fast approaching, it is more important than ever to me to make sure that I’m prepared with super easy dinner ideas, that allow me less time in the kitchen and more time outside and with my family. Of course, any time of the year is a great time for quick and easy meal ideas (and I share some of these ideas year-round over on my feed @lunchesandlittles), but with this change in season – the desire for them has certainly heightened!

Today I am sharing a recipe that is not only easy to make and requires little prep time but is also cooked – start to finish – in one tray. And who doesn’t love that? I tell ya, the whole after-dinner cleanup is one of my least favorite things. So, meals like this one are huge mom-wins in my book. Less time cooking, plus less time cleaning up after dinner. Seriously, sign me up!

This Sausage, Apple, Zoodles and More Tray Bake combines all sorts of flavors and textures. And, the only prep is washing and cutting up your produce and sausage links. Then everything simply gets roasted together in a tray, and while it’s roasting – you can enjoy time outside of the kitchen. Like, time outside in your backyard making memories or chasing the little ones… Or, a little bit of both. At least that is what I was doing while this was cooking up!

It’s worth saying that this recipe is a great one to put your own spin on. It is easy to omit something you or your kids may not like or add more of what you/they do. This is one recipe that you can certainly customize to your family’s preferred tastes without issue. And, for an extra fun spin on it, instead of cutting up your sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces (as the recipe states), why not try spiralizing them? You can even spiralize the apples. I love making meals as fun as possible for my family, and there is just something about spiralized anything that can win over even the pickiest eaters!

Sausage, Apple, Zoodles and More Tray Bake Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• Approximately 1 pound pork sausage
• 3-4 large sweet potatoes
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 red onion
• 2 apples
• Bit of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few handfuls of baby spinach, if desired
• *Optional: pork seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
   2. Wash any produce and then start prepping it: cut sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces, snap ends off asparagus and then cut the stems in half, slice onion, and slice apples into thin slices and then cut slices in half. *Alternatively, try spiralizing!
   3. Cut your pork sausage into small pieces, approximately 3 inches each.
   4. Place all of your prepped produce (minus spinach) and sausage into a large oven-safe tray or dish. This one from Crate and Barrel is perfect and fits enough for a larger family-sized meal.
   5. Drizzle just a little olive oil over top and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also use a pork seasoning to sprinkle on top of everything, if desired. I just think that this adds a bit more yum to the dish overall.
   6. Bake uncovered for approximately *60 min. (more or less depending on your oven) *If you notice that your sweet potatoes (or any part of the dish is starting to burn, you can lightly cover the pan with some foil for the remainder of the cook time.
   7. Once almost cooked (just a few minutes left) add in a few handfuls of spinach and give them a couple minutes in the dish to start to wilt. Once done, remove from over and serve a little bit of everything to everyone, or let your little ones choose what they would like best. So many great flavors and options in one dish – you can’t choose wrong!

Want more fun, easy and kid-friendly recipes? Be sure to check out Lunches + Littles on Instagram, where we are making up fun plates like this all the time!