Roasted Pumpkin and Potatoes with Sausage

If one of your dishes suddenly goes up in smokes or an unexpected (or uninvited) guest decides to show up, this side will save the day! It’s super easy, flexible, and the ingredients will already be on hand.  Without a clue as to what I was going to cook today, I went into this dish blind.  BLIND I say!  No flipping through cookbooks or browsing through recipes.  I simply thought about what I had and went for it!  I’m like my own parent, watching my inner chef grow!  My, how far I’ve come.  Two years ago, I probably couldn’t tell you exactly what roasting was.  Oh yea, that was me.

  

But, enough about me, more about the dish!  The flavors scream Thanksgiving.  It gets its sweet from the pumpkin and onions, while the savory comes from the sausage and potatoes.  With hints of cinnamon and caramelized brown sugar, it captures the essence of the holiday.  I mentioned earlier that this dish is flexible because you could substitute sausage for bacon or pumpkin for butternut squash.   You may even want to add a pat of butter instead of using olive oil.  See what ingredients you have already and tweak as you go!

Roasted Pumpkin and Potatoes with Sausage

1 lb pumpkin or other squash variety
4 medium potatoes
2 medium onions
4 medium sized sausage links
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

Peel and spoon seeds out of pumpkin.  Cut into 1 inch cubes. Peel and cut potatoes into same size.  Place in a baking dish and coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 40-50 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft.

Roughly cut onions to desired size.  Heat a large skillet with olive oil.  Add links and break to form smaller pieces.  When they are more than halfway cooked, add the onions.  Cook until onions are translucent but not caramelized.  Add roasted pumpkin, potato, sugar and cinnamon.  Mix until combined.  Serve warm.