Salmon with fall veggies. (Photo provided — Yvona Fast)

It’s autumn. Most of the leaves are off the trees. We’ve had our first snowfall.

It’s time to turn on the oven!

Most autumn vegetables — roots like carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and beets; winter squash like butternut, sturdy greens like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli — are great roasted. So they work well in sheet-pan dinners.

Sheet-pan dinners take the concept of a one-pot or skillet meal and move it to the oven. It is a full meal, with vegetables, proteins, and carbs, all baked together in a hot oven.

The oven heat helps warm the house on chilly autumn evenings The roasting veggies fill your home with delicious aroma.

The advantage is that, like a skillet dinner, you only have one pan to clean up. If you line the pan with parchment paper or foil, the cleanup is even easier.

Sheet pan dinners are fast and easy to prepare. The most time-consuming part is cutting up the ingredients. They don’t require expensive equipment — just a rimmed baking tray. You don’t need fancy ingredients, use meat and veggies that you have available. Add a little oil and seasoning, and roast until everything is golden.

Remember that some things cook longer than others. Bone-in chicken thighs will take 40 minutes, whereas sausage, salmon or diced chicken will take only 20. Sturdy vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash will take more time than delicate veggies like green beans or broccoli. It is OK to roast some things longer and add other things later in the process. You may even choose to use separate sheet pans to separate ingredients.

Also, your oven may not heat evenly. The things on the outer edges of your sheet pan will brown faster than those in the middle, so keep this in mind when arranging your food.

You may want to remove the pan in the middle of roasting and stir things up a bit before returning it to the oven.

Garnish the food with fresh herbs after it is done cooking. You can also add flavor with sauces like pesto or aioli.

Keeping in mind timing and flavor, create your own combinations of protein, veggies and carbs from what you have on hand. Combine squash with garbanzo beans and top with croutons. Roast salmon in one pan and veggies in another; provide crusty bread for those who want to add a carb.

There is no limit to the combinations you can create. Here are two of mine.

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Salmon with Fall Veggies

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For the salmon:

Ingredients:

Olive oil for the pan

3/4 pound salmon fillets

1 Tablespoon prepared mustard

1 clove garlic

1 Tablespoon fresh dill weed

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Oil the pan and arrange the salmon. Spread with mustard; mince the garlic and sprinkle on; sprinkle with fresh dill.

Pour wine and broth around the salmon, and bake 10-15 minutes until the fish flakes with a fork. Do not overcook.

For the veggies:

Ingredients:

Oil or butter for the sheet pan

2 cups cauliflower florets

1 carrot, sliced (about 1 cup)

1 or 2 cups broccoli florets

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

Fresh basil

Directions:

Lightly oil the pan.

In bowl, combine cauliflower, broccoli and carrot. Sprinkle with salt, minced garlic and chopped basil. Add oil or melted butter and toss to coat.

Transfer veggies to prepared pan. Bake until tender (about 15 minutes) alongside the salmon. Garnish with additional basil and/or fresh minced parsley.

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Fall Veggies with Sausage and Maple Mustard

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A fast, easy sheet-pan dinner — full of fall flavors!

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes (about 2 cups, diced)

2 white potatoes (about 2 cups, diced)

2 or 3 cups Brussels sprouts

Half a red onion (about 1 cup, diced)

Smoked sausage (I used kielbasa, also try other types, like turkey sausage)

1 or 2 cloves garlic

1 or 2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence

1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

1 tablespoon parmesan shavings, for serving (optional)

The sauce:

2 Tablespoons prepared mustard

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or spray lightly with cooking spray.

In bowl, combine sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and onion. Sprinkle with olive oil and toss to coat, then transfer to sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

In small bowl, stir together mustard, maple syrup and cider vinegar.

Slice the sausage. Mince the garlic.

Remove sheet pan from oven, add sausage and garlic, and drizzle with the sauce. Return to oven (turn it around so the stuff in back is now in front, to help with uneven heating) and roast until everything is tender, about 15 more minutes.

Sprinkle with fresh minced parsley and shredded Parmesan.

Serves 3 to 4.

Substitutions: Sub carrots or butternut squash for sweet potatoes. Sub broccoli or cauliflower for Brussels sprouts.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook “Garden Gourmet: Fresh and Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers Market,” Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: Writing and cooking. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite@yahoo.com or on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter: @yvonawrites.