Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Apple Sheet Pan Dinner

Ingredients

• 1 pack mild Italian pork sausage links or sweet Italian pork sausage links
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (don't bother peeling)
• 2 apples, cored and cut into thick wedges
• 1-2 handfuls baby arugula
• 3 tbsp. stoneground mustard
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. melted lard or tallow
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 425F. 
2. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, searing for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Lower the heat to low, add 1/2 cup of water, and cover. Finish cooking the sausage until the internal temperature reaches 165F. 
3. While the sausage is cooking, dice the sweet potatoes. Toss in melted lard, salt, and pepper. Arrange on the baking sheet. 
4. Cook the sweet potatoes in the oven for 15 minutes. 
5. While the sweet potatoes are baking, slice the sausage into 1-inch rounds. Slice the apples. 
6. Make the mustard-syrup-vinegar sauce: whisk together maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and stoneground mustard in a small bowl. 
7. After the sweet potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, remove from the oven. Add the sausage and apples to the sweet pan and toss with about 3/4 of the syrup-vinegar-mustard mixture. 
8. Return to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes more, until potatoes are soft and slightly caramelized. 
9. Remove from the oven and drizzle with remaining syrup-mustard-vinegar mixture. Add arugula and mix until arugula is just wilted. Serve immediately. 

Make it a heartier meal by serving it with rice or sourdough bread, or boost your nutrition by serving it alongside fried eggs.