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Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage {Easy Recipes under $2}

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Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage {Easy Recipes under $2}

Dinner Ideas: Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage {Easy Recipes under $2}

After a long day when you don’t have much time to cook, you need quick and easy dinner recipes! You’ve got to try this Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage recipe. It’s easy and super inexpensive. Sometimes I like taking my time and preparing complicated recipes that can take all day. But usually, for every day meals, fast and easy wins out!

Spice it up! My family loves smoked sausage. Normally I just fry it up in some olive oil, and serve with a few side dishes such as veggies and rice. But, that gets a little boring after a while. So, I decided to spice up our plain old sausage with this incredibly tasty recipe I made up.

Substitutions for Maple-Orange

The taste of this Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage reminds me of Honey Bourbon. But, that’s just the end result. There’s actually no honey or bourbon in it!

You can substitute similar tastes to get a similar dish. For example, mix something sweet with something tart and see what you get!

You can also substitute other types of meat easily, such as bratwurst, kielbasa or polish sausage. And you don’t even have to use beef! You could use turkey or pork sausage as well. Use your imagination!

Save time and money

Making it yourself from ingredients you have at home is not only frugal, it’s fun! Start with a taste in mind and hit up your cupboards to see what you have in stock. Because, using basic ingredients you already have is a great way to cook frugally. In other words, combining sweet and salty, or sweet and savory, or tangy and tart will help you invent new meals!

Price Breakdown

The cost of this meal can be very low. You can’t compare this under $2 meal for a family of five, to eating at a restaurant. That’s for sure! And, the ingredients used cost much less than a bottle of ready-made marinade. However, if you want more exquisite ingredients the cost will obviously increase. So, do what works for you!

  • maple syrup – it goes without saying that imitation syrup is much cheaper than real 100% pure maple syrup. I buy locally because I live in the country and there’s nothing like real maple syrup. But, if you buy imitation (such as “Log Cabin” brand) you can get it without a coupon for around .14 per ounce. Real maple syrup can cost double that. Our recipe calls for 1/2 a cup which is 5.6 oz, or 78¢ total.
  • oranges or orange juice – obviously, there are cheap varieties here too. I used real oranges that I chopped up in my Ninja blender. My daughter spit out the rind (hey, that’s fiber and it’s good for you!) So, if you’re going for cheap you can use concentrated orange juice which is as low as $1 per container that makes 2 quarts. That equates to 12.5 ¢
  • apple juice or Captain Morgan spiced rum – again, figuring the $1 containers that make 2 quarts, you’re at 12.5 ¢ per cup and you’re only using 1 oz, so that’s just under 2¢ (the Captain costs slightly more at around 30¢ per ounce if you get a 1.75 L bottle for $18, like I do at Costco).
  • smoked sausage – these can vary a lot! I got mine on sale for $1 each. I’ve seen them much higher and much lower in cost. Shop around!

Total = $1.92 for this whole main dish!

Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage – a Main Course or an Appetizer?

You can serve as an appetizer – smoked sausage bites, by piking them with toothpicks and passing on a tray. These are perfect to bring to parties, such as a Super Bowl Party!

Or, Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage is hearty enough to serve as a main dish for dinner or supper. Just add a few colorful sides and you’re all set.

Step by Step

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Maple-Orange Glazed Smoked Sausage {Easy Recipes under $2}

  • Author: Wendy
  • Total Time: 20 mins
  • Yield: 5 1x
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Description

This quick and easy recipe is perfect if you’re looking for the perfect appetizer or dinner! Add 3 simple ingredients to smoked sausage for a crazy good taste your whole family will love. Ready in 20 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 C maple syrup
  • An orange or two, puréed (or 1 C orange juice – with or without pulp)
  • 1 oz Captain Morgan Spiced Rum or apple juice
  • Package smoked sausage

Instructions

  1. Cut sausage into chunks
  2. Mix ingredients in a bowl and add all to a frying pan
  3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid becomes carmelized
  4. Serve as main dish or appetizer

Notes

To serve as appetizer, use toothpicks to spear each chunk.

  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Main
  • Cuisine: American

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Quick & Easy Hamburger Pie Casserole (Hotdish) Recipe

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Quick & Easy Hamburger Pie Casserole (Hotdish) Recipe

Quick & Easy Hamburger Pie Casserole (Hotdish) Recipe

I love my mom’s cooking more than the Food Network. Her recipes are amazing, and thankfully most of them are simple enough I can make them at home. Because, after all, homemade is best, and it costs less! 🙂 So, this is her Easy Hamburger Pie Casserole Recipe, which in the Midwest we call a hotdish.

If you’re looking for dinner ideas that use ground beef recipes and soup recipes, this is the perfect meal for you! Give it a try. Your whole family will love it!

Why Hamburger Pie?

WHAT’S IN A NAME? I struggle with what to call this recipe. I Google’d it and found Hamburger Pie Casserole. Boring. Or, something like Tomato Soup, Ground Beef, Mashed Potato Skillet is boring, but at least more definitive.  I guess the best ever Hamburger Pie Hotdish is a little closer, but still doesn’t do it justice. It’s not shepherds pie, although I do love a good shepherds pie recipe. Oh, and Best. Recipe. Ever. was taken. To be honest, OMG that Awesome Stuff Mom Makes with Tomato Soup, Hamburger and Potatoes is close but doesn’t explain what it is to the unsuspecting-yet-hungry passerby, unless they’ve already eaten it in which case it’s the perfect name. So, you see my dilemma.

Hotdish vs. Casserole

A word about hotdish and casserole – they’re essentially the same. Different parts of the United States call meals like this different things.  Hence the dual name. 🙂

What You’ll Need

SOUP IT UP You can make it a Campbells soup recipe, instead of using generic. I admit in this case name brand often tastes better than generic. But if you find an off-brand soup that tastes good, then go for it and save a little money.

HANGA-BURR (How two of my favorite little people used to say it!) We’re fortunate to live in the country where good hamburger is available. The grocery store in my teeny-tiny little town, Nilssen’s – named after the family that owns and operates it, makes award-winning ground beef. I use 80/20 from them, but it’s not like 80/20 from other stores. It’s very lean and incredibly tasty. If you’re buying regular hamburger meat, you might want to opt for a leaner variety such as 93% lean or better.  If not, be sure to drain the fat after you brown the meat.

Price breakdown: 

  • Tomato soup:  this can vary in price from $0.25 a can to over $1
  • Hamburger: Ground Beef in my area ranges from as low as $2 per pound if you buy in bulk, but the good stuff I buy costs $3.79/lb at my local butcher which is still cheaper than most places I’ve found!
  • Mashed Potatoes: You can make from whole potatoes, or from potato flakes – whichever you prefer. Neither are very expensive, but obviously you pay for convenience. A serving of 6-8 instant potatoes costs about 25¢, if that. Real potatoes are going to be more like 10¢
  • Total = You can make this whole meal and serve up to 5 people for around $4 – $5!!

Easy Hamburger Pie Casserole

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Food: Easy Hamburger Pie Hotdish Casserole | Recipes

  • Author: Gimmie
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 5 1x
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Description

Easy and fast, can be baked or made as a one-skillet meal! This tasty meal uses as few as 3 ingredients.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 lbs ground beef hamburger
  • 1/2 cup onion (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1 can green beans (optional)
  • 1 can condensed tomato soup – undiluted
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Prepared Instant potatoes
  • 1/2 cup shredded American or Cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. Brown meat in skillet, add salt and pepper. Add onions (if desired) and saute. Drain off grease.
  2. Add condensed soup, water and green beans (if desired, or serve on the side) and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
  3. Prepare 4-6 servings of instant potatoes, as directed. Or peel & quarter 5 medium potatoes, boil in water for 20 minutes or until fork tender, remove and mash with 2 cups milk and 3 T butter.
  4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of potatoes.
  5. For quick skillet meal: spoon mashed potatoes on top of meat mixture and cook for 5 minutes
  6. For oven baked meal: pour meat mixture into casserole dish, spoon mashed potatoes as top layer, leaving a crater (hole) in center for faster baking time. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden.
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Cuisine: American

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