Apples and sausage and sweet potatoes, all baked up together. Does it get more wonderfully autumnal?

It really is that simple. We decided to take all the best flavors of fall and combine them into one awesomely twice-baked package. Add a bit of cheese to tie it all together and you have a fantastic dinner that takes just 20 minutes hands-on time. Even better, they are easily prepped in advance.

Follow the recipe up to the baking stage, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days.

APPLE-SAUSAGE STUFFED SWEET POTATOES

Can't find cheese curds? Substitute shredded or chopped cheddar.

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (20 minutes active)

Servings: 8

4 large sweet potatoes

1 pound loose fennel sausage meat

1/4 cup chopped shallots

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup cheese curds, chopped

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350 F.

Use a fork to poke several holes into each potato. Place them directly on the oven's middle rack and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender throughout when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, saute the sausage, shallots, garlic and rosemary until the sausage is browned and cooked through. Remove from the heat. Stir in the apple, then set aside.

Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, cut each in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out most of the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh. Add the scooped out sweet potato and the cheese curds to the sausage mixture, mixing it well. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture back into the sweet potato shells.

Arrange the filled sweet potato halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Nutrition information per serving: 290 calories; 140 calories from fat (48 percent of total calories); 15 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 55 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 14 g protein; 410 mg sodium.