Sausage Sweet Potato Rice Bake

½ log of Jimmy Dean Sausage (or other ground pork sausage)

1 small sweet potato, cubed

2/3 teaspoon of honey (maple or agave syrup can be used as a substitute)

1 cup of chicken broth

4 cups of cooked rice

½ teaspoon of seasoning salt

This rice mix is relatively easy to make and involves only a few ingredients. It can be made as a side dish or a one-pot meal. You can also use it as an alternative stuffing for a chicken or a turkey.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To prep the sweet potato (unless you can find it already cubed), you will need to boil it for 15 minutes or until you can stick a fork into it. The sweet potato or yam should be just tender enough to cut into, not so cooked that it starts breaking apart. Let it cool or run it under cold water for a couple of minutes. Peel the skin off of the sweet potato, then cube it. Drizzle the sweet potato cubes in a little bit of honey or maple syrup. This is just to bring out the sweetness of the potato, so only add a small amount.

Next, put the sausage into a skillet or pan and fry it over medium heat. Break it up into small bite-sized pieces as you cook it. Once the sausage has browned, take the cubed sweet potato and add it to the skillet, letting it cook for a minute or two. Add in the cooked rice and the seasoning salt and stir thoroughly.

If you are cooking this on its own (rather than using it as stuffing), you will need a 9x9 or larger sized baking pan. Grease or butter the pan. Then, transfer the mixed rice, sausage, and sweet potato into it. Pour the cup of chicken broth over the mix and put it in the oven. Cover it with aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes. Then, remove the cover and let it cook for an additional twenty minutes. If you prefer the rice mix to be crispy, you do not need to cover the pan.

This makes approximately 8-10 servings if you are using it as a side dish. If it is a one-pot meal, this will make about 5 servings. You can also add parsley to garnish.

*For those concerned about reducing fat or sodium, Jimmy Dean offers a reduced-fat sausage, which is what I often use when creating this recipe. If you are concerned about sodium, you can substitute other spices for the seasoning salt and you can find low-sodium chicken broth.