What's for Dinner? Sheet Pan Brats & Potatoes

As promised, here is one of our family's favorite sheet pan dinners - Sheet Pan Brats & Potatoes. It's the perfect excuse for enjoying a batch of our Homemade Sauerkraut. Even though grilling season is coming up, having a good sheet pan dinner recipe up your sleeve is a really good thing. You're gonna love this one.

We just gotta have Homemade Sauerkraut with our Sheet Pan Brats & Potatoes.

You can customize this recipe to suit the sausages and veg you prefer. We're partial to good ol' fashion bratwurst, golden potatoes, and white or yellow onions.

What's for Dinner? Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos

Spinach artichoke dip? Yes, please! Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos? Are you kidding me?

Say hello to your new favorite nachos - Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos!

These nachos are cheesy and creamy and packed with delicious bites of garlicky spinach and briny artichokes. My, oh my. Matthew says this is the best tray of nachos yet. I'll let you be the judge of that.



The spinach artichoke dip I use for these nachos comes together quickly on the stove. If you don't want to make your own, feel free to buy one ready to go from your grocery store's deli. Or, you can mix up this 4 ingredient version from Pickett's Pearls, bake it up, and then scoop it onto your nachos after you've melted some cheese on 'em.

Here's what I do for my stovetop version:



In a medium pot, melt a little bit o' butter and briefly saute some garlic.

Throw in the spinach and cook until wilted.



Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, a dollop or two of mayo, and a dash of cayenne. Then, melt in some Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, and Cotija cheese for sharp cheesy flavor. Lastly, throw in some lovely artichokes.

Spoon the dip over a sheet pan of corn chips and sprinkle on some more Monterey Jack and Mozzarella.

A very welcoming tray of Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos.

Bake until melty and toasty and starting to brown. Then, sprinkle a little more Cotija over the top. Just because. 😉

Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos

INGREDIENTS
7 to 10 oz bag corn tortilla chips
1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach
6 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
2 Tbsp mayo
hefty pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups jarred or canned artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup more shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup more shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp more grated Cotija

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Lay down a layer of corn chips on the pan and set aside.
2. In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat and cook garlic for 30 seconds. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
3. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, and seasonings and cook, stirring often, until melted.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup of each each cheese until melted and then add the artichoke hearts.
5. Spoon dip over tortilla chips and top with another 1/2 cup Monterey Jack and 1/2 cup Mozzarella.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes until chips are toasty and cheese is melty and starting to brown.
7. Sprinkle another 2 Tbsp of Cotija over the top.

What's for Dinner? Italian Sub Nachos

I can't stop with the nachos. We eat nachos about once a week these days. Can you blame me? Nachos are fast and easy and fabulous. Absolutely fabulous! You want a fabulous meal? Make nachos!

These Italian Sub Nachos are reminiscent of one of my favorite Subway sandwiches.



I start off by covering my chips in parmesan and mozzarella. Then I throw on sliced pepperoni and hard salami.



That gets thrown into the oven for 7 minutes or so.



I chose the fresh kind of toppings I like to add to my Italian sub - shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of red wine vinegar.



Deeeeeeeeeelish! Next time I'm adding pepperoncinis.

Italian Sub Nachos

INGREDIENTS
1 bag corn tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sliced pepperoni
1/3 cup sliced hard salami
2 1/2 cups chopped Iceberg lettuce
1 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Add a layer of corn tortilla chips to your pan. Top with cheeses and meat.
4. Bake 7 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
5. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper according to your taste.
7. Drizzle with vinegar.

What's for Dinner? Chile Verde Sheet Pan Nachos

Nachos will be making frequent appearances on this blog. Surprise, surprise. It's not like it's my favorite food or anything. 😉 It's also such an easy one pan dinner - and so very yummy. I have yet to try a version on the grill. Maybe that will be one of my goals this summer.



This version utilizes leftover pork carnitas. You can also buy some at your local supermarket in the deli section. I forget the brand just now, but they may even have a chile verde version.



I used "Queso Quesadilla" shredded cheese which I think is just a blend of typical cheeses used in Mexican food that melt well. You can also use Mexican blend or Monterey Jack shredded cheese. A must have ingredient for this pan of nachos is Cotija cheese. I grated some to melt with the Quesadilla cheese. I also grated some on top right before serving. It adds so much flavor.



After the nachos were done baking, I drizzled on green enchilada sauce and sour cream.



Then I sprinkled the whole pan with 1/2 a small can of jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro.

If there was such a thing as an all star hall of fame for nachos, this version would definitely make the cut.

Chile Verde Sheet Pan Nachos

INGREDIENTS
1 bag corn tortilla chips
1 8 oz bag Queso Quesadilla shredded cheese or Mexican Blend or Monterey Jack
1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese, plus 1 or 2 Tbsp to be sprinkled on top
1 1/2 cups shredded pork carnitas
1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce or chile verde sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
2 oz canned jalapeños (that's 1/2 of a 4 oz can)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and add a layer of corn chips.
3. Top with the whole bag of Queso Quesadilla and 1/4 cup Cotija.
4. Add shredded carnitas and bake about 10 minutes until cheese is good and melty.
5. Drizzle on about 3/4 of the can of green enchilada sauce and the sour cream.
6. Top with 2 oz canned jalapeños, green onions, and cilantro.
7. Sprinkle with 1 or 2 Tbsp Cotija.
8. Serve with a huge smile.

What's for Dinner? Sheet Pan Italian Sausage & Peppers

Despite a few set backs over spring break, the hubbs and I are eating lower carb these days in an effort to lose 30 pounds of, let's call it, baby weight. So far, so good. Matthew's down about 10 pounds and I'm almost down 20.

Meat and veggie dishes are my go to's during this slimming down season. Also, I am all about the one pan oven dishes. With homeschooling, and a baby girl, and a house that won't clean itself (as hard as I wish) one pan wonders are the best.

When making one pan dishes you want to make sure that everything cooks evenly and that it's all done at the same time. Otherwise, you'll have to remove the done items from your pan and stick it back in the oven to continue cooking whatever isn't cooked. Not the end of the world, but why make more work for yourself than you have to. Also, whatever you take out will be sitting there getting cold without efforts on your part to keep it warm while it's waiting for its roasting compadres. Again, more work.



In this dish, the Italian sausages need about 40 minutes to roast. Taking that into account I quarter my onion leaving it in huge chunks so they don't burn while the sausages are get'n done.



Same with the bell peppers. They should be quartered or cut into really big chunks so they don't end up mushy (unless you like mushy). The pepper pieces pictured here could have been a little bigger.



I let the sausages roast for 30 minutes, then turn them and roast another 10 minutes. Perfection.

On a side note, if you aren't trying to eat low carb, go ahead and scoop this dish into beautifully toasted and buttered hoagie rolls, top with provolone cheese, and melt under the broiler for 2 minutes or so. 😉

Sheet Pan Italian Sausages & Peppers

INGREDIENTS

2 19 oz packages Italian sausages

3 large bell peppers

1 large red onion

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil to coat

olive oil spray

foil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Line a large baking sheet with foil for easy clean up and spray with oil spray.

3. Quarter bell peppers. Toss in a medium bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add salt and fresh ground pepper. Toss to coat and dump onto your baking sheet.

4. Nestle the sausages into the baking pan as well.

5. Spray your onion chunks with olive oil on both sides and salt and pepper them. Nestle them gently onto your pan so that each chunk stays together.

6. Roast for 30 minutes. Then flip sausages over and roast another 10 minutes.