Roasted Veggie and Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner

Source: Our Best Bites (are you noticing a theme here? if it's not from Mel, it's from OBB!)

We ate it before I could take a good "final" pic!  (If that's not
a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!)

Ingredients:
1 12-14 ounce package smoked sausage, cut into 2″ slices (I like to use turkey smoked sausage to cut the calories and fat just a bit)
1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
1 pound sweet potato, cut into 3/4″ chunks (the smaller the better so they cook quicker)
1/4 cup extra virgin lemon olive oil (or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + zest of 1 lemon) (I always do the oil + zest, but I never have lemons, so I use limes instead)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dry parsley)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pomegranate arils (really fun and different and delicious, but not necessary if you don't have them)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss the sausage, sprouts, and sweet potato on the baking sheet and set aside.

Whisk together the olive oil (and lemon (or lime - seriously, give it a try) zest, if using), garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper and drizzle over the sausage/sprouts/sweet potato mixture. Toss to combine. Place the sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then use a spatula to flip the sausage mixture and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and, if desired, season with additional salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Ready to toss with oil and spices.

Just needs pomegranate arils! (Or not!)
(Also, you can see I scrapped the foil - I don't have patience
for the stuff when I'm tossing and flipping and ripping it to shreds.)

Notes:
I first made this in 2016, shortly after it was posted by OBB, and it instantly became a family favorite.  And I became an instant fan of sheet pan dinners and sought out and pinned about a million the next day - but I always come back to this one over and over and over.  It's just so GOOD.  We love it with the pomegranate arils for a little pop of color and sweetness, but I don't always have them or use them.  Also, the veggies and sausage are totally customizable - get creative!  You could use regular red/gold potatoes, zucchini, green beans, peppers, onions, even grape tomatoes!  Same goes for the sausage - I just buy the cheapest smoked turkey sausage I can find at the store, but there are all kinds of flavors and brands available these days, so use what you like!

Update 3/6/2019: I made it with sweet potatoes and sausage,
like usual, but subbed asparagus for the sprouts and added
some onion and cauliflower - so yummy!  So versatile!

Cajun Chicken Stroganoff

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces chicken sausage (like the Aidell's brand), sliced 1/2-inch thick (I just used some turkey sausage that was on sale)
12 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 Tablespoons flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream
Chopped green onions or fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Hot, cooked egg noodles or rice or quinoa for serving (we always go for egg noodles with stroganoff)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the paprika, pepper, salt, basil, thyme and oregano. Let sit while cooking the sausage and mushrooms.

In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet (I always use a large saucepan because I don't have a skillet big enough for these sorts of things), heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken/seasonings mixture in a single layer. Let the chicken brown nicely on all sides (don't let it cook through). Push the chicken to the edges of the skillet and add the tomato paste and garlic powder to the center. Cook while mashing and pressing the tomato paste and garlic mixture into the hot skillet for 30 seconds or so before stirring it into the chicken.

In a liquid measure cup (or in a blender) combine the flour and chicken broth until smooth.

Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring quickly and thoroughly. After the mixture thickens a bit, continue adding the broth slowly, stirring or whisking quickly to incorporate the broth throughout the chicken. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly and thickened. Add the mushrooms and sausage back to the skillet and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Off the heat, stir in the sour cream. Serve over hot, cooked egg noodles, rice or quinoa. Garnish with fresh parsley or green onions, if desired

Notes:
This makes a ton of sauce - usually I mix my noodles and sauce together and just serve it from one pot, but this time I didn't cook nearly enough noodles to do that, so we kept them separate for leftovers and I used some leftover rice from other meals for lunches the next few days.  Also, the sauce was runnier than I was expecting.  So maybe next time I'll add an extra tablespoon or so of flour to help it thicken up a bit more.  It was good though.  Different than our usual stroganoff (which we all love around here), but a fun change.  I really like the sausage addition.