4 Frugal Fall Meal Ideas That The Family Will Love

I’m sharing four of my favorite recipes for frugal fall meals. These easy, cheap fall recipes will quickly become family favorites. They are fast, easy, frugal, and delicious so let’s get started

1. Cabbage and sausage skillet recipe

Ingredients:

• Kielbasa sausage (any flavor)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 head cabbage
• 2 apples
• 1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Chop up kielbasa sausage. Heat and brown the sausage with about a tablespoon of olive oil. While the sausage cooks, chop up one onion and three cloves of garlic.

Remove the browned sausage from the pan and saute onions and garlic.

Chop cabbage while onions cook. Combine the cabbage in the skillet with the onions and garlic and allow that to cook down for about five minutes.

While the cabbage is cooking, dice two apples and place the apples in with the cabbage in the skillet. Cook down the apples for about five more minutes.

Add 1 1⁄2 cups of chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and cook for five more minutes

Add the sausage back into the skillet and heat to serve.

2. Egg casserole recipe

I usually put this dish in the oven but you can throw it in the slow cooker, too.

Ingredients:

• 8 to 10 eggs (I used 14 because I had an abundance)
• 5 potatoes (or hash browns)
• 1 cup milk
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Sausage
• 1 cup cheese (any kind)

Rinse five potatoes and dice them or use hash browns.

Crack all the eggs in a bowl.

Tip: if you get an egg shell in your eggs, use a large piece of shell to fish out the smaller piece.

Add 1 cup of milk and whisk with 2 teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of pepper.

Cook through the sausage in a pan, remove when browned. Keep the sausage grease to cook other dishes–I usually put it in a Mason jar in the refrigerator–it’s a good way to save on cooking oil.

Add potatoes in the pan with some grease and sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt on them while they cook to tender.

Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. Pour half of the potatoes and half of the sausage into the pan, sprinkle 1 cup of cheese, and then repeat the layers.

Pour the eggs over the top of the casserole.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 minutes until the eggs are set.

3. Sausage and corn chowder recipe

I use a versatile Dutch oven for this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Grease or oil
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 potatoes (peeled or unpeeled)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 bags frozen corn
• 1 pound cooked sausage
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 3 cups milk
• Toppings (cheese, sour cream)

Add 1 tablespoon of grease to the bottom of a Dutch oven, let it melt, and cook the onions.

Dice potatoes and add 1 teaspoon of pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt, and four diced potatoes.

Tip: I don't peel my potatoes before I put them in a recipe just because of the nutritional value that they offer, but if you don't like the skins, peel them first.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 bags of frozen corn and boil it all for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce to low and add 1 pound of cooked sausage, then stir to cool down before adding milk. I’m using raw milk, as I noted, because I like all the health benefits.

I'm going to pull off 1 1⁄2 cups of the cream and 3 cups of regular milk.

Turn the temperature down to low so that the milk and cream will not boil. Simmer, do not boil, to let it thicken up a bit. Serve when thickened.

Top with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

4. Bacon-wrapped pork loin recipe

This next recipe is one of my family's favorites, especially to have during the fall. It is a delicious and super simple recipe, but I think it is good enough to be considered a gourmet meal.

So let's get started making a bacon-wrapped pork loin.

Ingredients:

• 1 package bacon
• Pork loin
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
• Pepper to taste

Lay bacon out on a cutting board, overlapping it just a little. This step makes it easier to wrap the pork.

Flip over the pork loin so the bacon ends are at the bottom.

Once wrapped, carefully flip the pork loin over, place it inside a Dutch oven, and adjust the bacon wrapping.

Drizzle maple syrup over the top of the bacon.

Put the lidded Dutch oven in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about two hours.