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Although the weather has been hot, the leaves are turning colors, so it must be fall. That means a change in the dinner menu at our house. We all crave comfort foods at this time of year - soups and hearty casseroles. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to eat well or consume too many calories. I’ve got a great recipe to share today that is super easy. If you can open a few cans, slice some sausage and turn on the oven, you are good to go. You could put this on and pick the kids up from practice and it will be almost done by the time you are home. Add a nice crusty bread or some cornbread and you have a fine meal. I made spoon bread which is similar to cornbread but softer and more like pudding but it went well with this dish. It cooks in almost the same amount of time. If you like cornbread, you will like spoon bread.

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

INGREDIENTS:
*2 1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage, cut into 2 or 3 inch pieces
*3 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
*1 large onion, cut into chunks
*4 garlic cloves, minced (use the minced garlic in jars to save time!)
*3 Tbsp. olive oil
*2 or 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
*2 tsp. thyme
*2 whole bay leaves
*salt and pepper to taste
*3 16 oz. cans white beans such as Great Northern or Cannellini, drained with 1/2 cup liquid reserved.

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 425. Mix everything but the beans in a large roasting dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place in oven and roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes and onions have cooked down to a thick sauce, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, stir in beans and liquid and cook about 10 more minutes. I could not find turkey Italian sausage at the store the other day so I substituted smoked turkey sausage and just added after roasting the rest of the mixture 15 minutes. The smoked sausage is already cooked and doesn’t need so much cooking time.

Spoon Bread

INGREDIENTS:
*1 1/2 cups boiling water
*1 cup cornmeal
*1 tsp. salt
*2 Tbsp. butter
*1 cup milk
*2 eggs, beaten
*2 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:
Pour water over cornmeal gradually, stirring until smooth. Add butter and salt, stirring until butter melts. Cool 10 minutes, then add the milk, eggs and baking powder. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes until lightly browned and set.

Give this meal a try this weekend and see if it doesn’t become a family favorite.

Until next week,
Lisa