When working full-time, one thing that is very important to maintain balance is being able to make quick meals that are healthy and that all members of my family will love.  While it may be easier to swing by a local pizza shop or restaurant on my way home from work, it will be more expensive and not as healthy.  I know I cannot get out of my local pizza place under $40 and under $50 for my local Chinese food restaurant.  That money spent certainly can add up.

This recipe is something my family loves.  I love it too because it only takes about 10 minutes of prep and 35 minutes to cook.  Also, it’s a sheet pan recipe so I only have to clean one pan.  Genius!

Here’s what you will need for this Kielbasa and Sweet Potato sheet pan recipe:

• Kielbasa 1 or 2 packages
  • I love Kayem brand.  I realize that this is probably a regional thing (being from the Northeast) but it is THE BEST kielbasa.  Phenomenal flavor and not at all salty.
  • For my family of 4, 1 package was enough
• 3 sweet potatoes
  • washed and patted dry
• Spices
  • garlic powder- 1 tsp
  • salt- to taste
    • I use Sherpa Pink Himalayan
    • this salt is delicious and has trace minerals that iodized salt cannot provide
  • pepper- to taste
  • cinnamon- 1 tsp
• Olive Oil- 2 Tbsp

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  If you have a convection oven, pre-heat it to 325 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  You want to make sure that the sheet pan is large enough to fit the food in one layer.  Preferably, there should be enough room around each delicious morsel so that the air can circulate.  That’s the secret to a crispy outer skin.  When you crowd the pan, your items will more likely steam and become soggy.

Directions

• Peel the sweet potatoes and chop off each end
  • Don’t go crazy on peeling every little piece of skin
  • Quite frankly, I am lazy- who’s got time for that?  I do a quick once over with the peeler and what’s left behind, is added fiber!
• Once these are peeled, go ahead and slice these into 1 inch pieces
• Place the sweet potatoes onto the baking pan
  • Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with all of the spices
  • Then get your hands dirty and mix it all around so that each piece of potato has a coating of the spice mixture
    • You can do this step in a big bowl and mix with a spoon but it does add to the dish count!
  • Once coated, spread the sweet potato on half the baking sheet taking care that they are in a single layer with room around each piece
• Chop the kielbasa into 1 inch pieces and spread on the other half of the lined sheet pan
  • These should also be uniform pieces around the same size as the sweet potatoes
  • 
  • This helps everything cook at an even rate
  • Also, remember to leave space in between for a delicious, crispy skin
• Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes until the kielbasa is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside

This meal is so delicious.  The sweet potatoes are amazing because they caramelize during the cooking process and when you combine that with the most flavorful kielbasa- oh my!  Amazing!  It is a terrific, home-cooked meal for those busy nights.  It has a quick prep and cook time and also lends itself to easy cleanup.

This is definitely something you can feel good about feeding your family!  What sheet pan meal do you and your family like?  I would love to hear!