Dinner in an emergency, or before I order a pizza! (Sausage, Fennel and Apple Sheet Pan Supper)

I like to keep a stocked house for emergency dinners or lunches when plans go awry. Or, sometimes, I just decide I don't want to eat what I had planned and I have to make something else before I order pizza. This recipe is a result of the latter situation.

I  was prebuying things for recipes I had planned to cook in the future when I was at certain stores that sold the things I needed.  I bought some chicken sausage for a breakfast I was planning on making in a few weeks because it was on sale (I never made it by the way).  And then I realized I needed breakfast sausage, not regular!  Luckily, I did not freeze it away when I realized my error.  I came home from a long day at work and was supposed to make a raw fennel salad with leftover fennel from ratatouille and apple from oatmeal bake. But the thought of raw fennel was no longer appetizing.  Then I thought about how much I loved roasted fennel.  A sheet pan supper was born!

I was a bit nervous about roasting the apples, but it was a great idea.  These flavors all melded so great, and then the dressing brought them out further.  You should try this, it is easy to make and easy to clean, who doesn't love that?  Full recipe to follow the montage.

I haven't made a beige meal in ages!

Dinner on the fly is easy when you have such a great team already assembled!

This is how you should chop the fennel.

The yummy dressing.  It really matched the sweet and tart fennel and apple.

Season it up with salt and pepper and toss in oil, like a good sheet pan meal maker.

Just look at all those yummy flavor bits!

Dinner is served!

Sausage Fennel and Apple Sheet Pan Supper (serves 2)

1 onion chopped into chunks

1 apple (I used honey crisp) chopped into chunks

1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped into chunks

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 pack of chicken sausages, cut into rounds

Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

1 tbsp. Honey mustard (or dijon)

2 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375.  Place onion, apple, fennel, garlic and sausage on a foiled baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.  Bake in oven for 45 minutes, stirring twice.  Meanwhile, mix up dressing ingredients.  Once sheet pan is done, plate and dress with a tablespoon or two of dressing.  Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Missy