East Sheet Pan Sausage & Gnocchi

We are in full summer swing here. Kids are going to camp, friend’s houses, the pool. I feel like my third part-time job is their social coordinator (but it feels great to be doing it again!). Today, we had two camps, at different times, soccer practice, and an orthodontist appointment. I also had meetings at work and my actual paying job to do so dinner needed to be easy.

Since I do try to plan my meals each week I knew this day was coming. I also knew I had to front-load meals for leftovers at the end of the week. This is the perfect weeknight dinner when you are busy and need to get dinner on the table fast. I took some help with pre-cut & washed cauliflower & broccoli, Rao’s marinara, cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joe’s, and I may have swiped some pesto from the restaurant today. There are some perks, thanks Chefy.

I had two zucchini from my front yard, a couple of sweet potatoes, and red onion that I decided to use too for a little extra bulk. I always to two pounds of Italian Sausage. I pull the gnocchi out of the freezer while I prep the veggies so it can thaw just a touch. If you are mixing a starchier vegetable like a sweet potato with something like zucchini that has more water and cooks faster you have to cut them differently. I cut the zucchini thicker and the potatoes thinner so they would cook evenly and be done at the same time.

All the veggies get thrown into a bowl and are generously coated with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I eyeball everything but if I had to say at least 1/4 C of olive oil since I had lots of broccoli.

Hot tip: if you don’t get the broccoli florets covered in oil they get ashy instead of charred, then they shrivel up and die. If you think you’re done with the olive oil add more.

I toss the veggies onto parchment-lined sheet pans with four sausages each. In the same bowl, I throw the gnocchi in and give it the same treatment then add to the sheet pans of veggies. I usually have a third sheet pan for veggies only because we eat a lot of them.

Pop all those sheet pans into a oven that has been pre-heated to 425 and roast for about 20 minutes. Stir at least once & rotate the pans so everything cooks evenly.

I like to serve marinara and pesto on the side and everyone can make their own dinner. And, since I use parchment paper clean up is a snap. I roll it up and toss it then make my almost 13 year old do the dishes. Win/Win!