This is a perfect example of how thought-process-to-meal actually works, sometimes…

I was going to make a cassoulet of sorts for dinner.  A quick version.  We were decorating and I just wanted to get something in the oven I didn’t have to think about.  I had a pork tenderloin and a couple of Hungarian sausages that were thawing, pulled down the beans, crumbs at the ready…

And then I opened the ‘fridge for butter.  And saw the leftover dressing.

The cassoulet started morphing into something completely different. ::: insert Monty Python tagline here :::

There were two big sweet potatoes in the potato basket. I started thinking of layering things…

Into the casserole dish went a layer of stuffing.  A bit of gravy went on top just to keep it moist.  Atop that went the sliced Hungarian sausages.  The pork tenderloin went back into the ‘fridge.

I peeled and sliced one of the sweet potatoes and layered it on top.  I drizzled it with about a quarter-cup of maple syrup, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, covered it, and put it in the oven at 350° for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I purposely used the sausage instead of turkey (or the pork tenderloin) to make it seem less a Thanksgiving leftover and more a stand-alone casserole.  It had the flavors of fall – with just enough of a twist to make it unique.

I can see a lot of variations on this theme…..