Sausage -- it’s not just for breakfast anymore! It’s also not just for mixing into cornbread stuffing or cramming into mushroom caps. You’ve got a perfect cold weather comfort food in this Savory Sausage and Sweet Potato Casserole, which takes advantage of two prime specimens of the season: apples and pears. Add in some gorgeous orange yams, and you’ve made a fabulous dinner for a dreary, rainy day!

This recipe came about as a challenge. My son Jeremy never used to like Shepherd’s Pie, a glorious combination of meat and vegetables and gravy and -- one of his very favorite foods -- mashed potatoes. He would eat each item individually, but something about them sharing space was a problem. So I was determined to find some version that he would eat … and thus, this variation on the theme was born. There’s meat, there’s produce, there’s gravy, and there’s a non-crust topping; Jeremy has loved it from the first moment he tried it.

So when I found out that Jimmy Dean and Taste of Home magazine are sponsoring a contest with a potential $2500 cash prize, this was the obvious choice for my entry. Unfortunately, the casserole is not very photogenic; I took pictures of it in the baking dish (a vast swath of orange), on the plate (a pile of brown with flecks of orange), on a fork (a tidbit of brown with a hint of orange) … I would be embarrassed to have any of you see the pile of mush that it appears to be when facing a camera. And yet, the aroma is amazing and the taste sublime! Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a delicious sweet and savory dinner by its lack of supermodel beauty ….

Savory Sausage and Sweet Potato Casserole

3 large yams 1 pound Jimmy Dean Mild Country Sausage 1 small onion, chopped 2 large Ambrosia apples, peeled, cored, quartered, chopped into 1/2” dice 2 large Bosc pears, peeled, cored, quartered, chopped into 1/2” dice 2 cups apple cider, divided 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425° F. Pierce the yams with a knife and bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until very tender.

Meanwhile, sauté the sausage in a 10” skillet over medium heat until nearly brown. Add the onion, apples and pears; cook for 2 minutes, stirring, then cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, bring 1-1/4 cups cider to a boil along with the cornstarch and nutmeg; turn heat to “low” and let cook for 5 minutes. Stir cider into the sausage mixture, and place into an 8”x8” casserole dish.

When the yams are ready, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Mash the yams with the remaining 3/4 cup cider, then spoon the mixture over the sausage. Serve hot.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures as she tries to win prizes, feeds hungry teenagers and other loved ones, and generally just has fun in the kitchen. The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured next to the blog's title) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15, and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here!

You can contact Mary at yentamary@gmail.com.