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When you want an easy and quick dinner, it’s hard to go wrong with a bit of sausage and a healthy mix of veggies and/or fruit.  This Oven-Roasted Autumn Medley combines a modest amount of sausage with a few basic spices and a hearty mix of apple and sweet potatoes to make a great casserole for fall that is both savory and budget-friendly.

This recipe is great on the flavor and low on the hassle.  It’s also low on budget strain (not to mention low on time pressure, as it only takes about an hour to prep  and cook).  I’d say it’s a great choice for a hectic midweek dinner in fall, though if you love sausage and sweet potatoes as much as I do, you may be hankering for this year-round.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Budget Bytes

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Quick tip: Add some red pepper flakes for spiciness!

Two of these could about make a full meal by themselves, and one makes for a very good side.  These Twice-Baked Jalapeño Sweet Potatoes are loaded with flavor and healthy goodness. And don’t worry – the spiciness is not overwhelming and easily adjustable.

I have read plenty about how good sweet potatoes are for you:  good fiber and complex carbs, much lower glycemic index than “regular” potatoes, antioxidants, Vitamin A, etc. And I have come to love their flavor, though I must admit that I was a bit slow to warm up to them as a kid.  Part of the problem is, I think, that there just aren’t enough good and creative recipes out there for sweet potatoes or at least not enough well-known ones. Well, you’ll want to save this one.

Recipe and photo courtesy of iFOODreal

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Quick tip: Adjust the amount of jalapenos to your liking.

This Mexican delight is great as party or tailgate food but also makes for part of a nice Mexican meal at home, if you prefer. I do love some Mexican food, now and then. This dip is, strictly speaking, an appetizer, but it also makes for a nice side dish, and one or two people could make a decent vegetarian (not vegan, granted, but vegetarian) lunch out of it!  And being what it is, I am sure that you wouldn’t have much trouble expanding the recipe, if needed.

I went with some homemade enchilada sauce, but I am sure that the ranchero would be just fine, as well.  It’s really a matter of personal preference. If you intend for this to be part of a full Mexican dinner, you might consider having some black beans and/or beef enchiladas with it.  Otherwise, just serve with plenty of your favorite tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Dip Recipe Creations

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Quick tip: Adjust the amount of cayenne to your liking.

My husband is begging me to make these twice a week.

This Buttermilk Fried Chicken is a classically Southern twist on the usual American fried chicken recipe.  It makes for a great main course for lunch or dinner at home, but with the right sides, it also makes for great picnic and tailgate food. My great-grandmother in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, made some fabulous buttermilk fried chicken.  Alas, she closely guarded all of her best recipes (to the point, in some cases, of going to different grocery stores for different groups of ingredients, so no one person working there would have the full list of ingredients) and would only share them with fellow culinary artists who were very close to her.

Unfortunately, she passed away before I properly got into cooking.  I can’t say for sure that it’s an exact match (time blurs certain details and enhances others), but this buttermilk fried chicken does come close to her old recipe, at the very least, and I assure you that it is quite delicious.

I mean, all you can do is make this recipe for yourself and sample it. I guarantee you won’t be sorry! Grandma certainly knew what she was doing in the kitchen and her recipes prove this sentiment time and time again. Enjoy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Jo Cooks

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Quick tip: Mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for these!

It may not be the prettiest cake that you’ve ever seen, but this Texas Tornado Cake is loaded with flavor and has a nice mix of textures.

You can have it all done in about an hour, and you can make about 15 servings for roughly $10, making it a family-friendly and budget-friendly option. Plus, it is so delicious your whole family will love it – make sure you have the recipe at hand if you’re serving this to guests. They are going to be begging you for it! I have brought this to several potlucks and I know by now to make a few copies of the recipe, to take with me!

It seems a bit unfair to call this Texas tornado cake a “budget option,” considering the fruit in there (provided via fruit cocktail) and that lovely flavor and texture of coconut, but I guess that goes to show you:  things don’t always have to cost a lot to be really flavorful and satisfying.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Can’t Stay Out of The Kitchen

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Quick tip: Cut this into bite-sized pieces and freeze for a quick treat when you want one!

The delicious lasagna that most people know comes with a generous helping of meat, but with all the yummy zucchini and cheese flavors, you won’t miss the meat when you have these Three-Cheese Zucchini Lasagna Rolls.  They’re also rather easy to put together. This is the perfect recipe for those days when you want something healthy and delicious, but don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen. And even the pickiest of eaters will love their veggies this way!

I confess that I love my meat dishes plenty, but it’s nice to mix it up, sometimes.  And I do occasionally have vegetarian guests over, so it’s nice to have something tasty for them. These tasty treats are also VERY freezer-friendly, so you can make plenty in advance, so long as you have the freezer space.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinny Taste

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Quick tip: Make this gluten free by using brown rice lasagna noodles!

For as simple as it is, this Chocolate Italian Love Cake has a lot of complexity to it. And if you like chocolate, you’ll absolutely, well, love it. Love has many layers. Sometimes, it is light and airy; other times, it is a bit darker and more heavy.  It also shifts over time.  In that respect, you could say that this yummy love cake is a good metaphor for its namesake.  And you can have it prepped and baked in a little over an hour without too much hassle – unless you consider waiting on such deliciousness to set in the refrigerator a hassle, I suppose.

Yes, the layers actually shift during baking.  Nice trick, eh?  I really like the contrast of the chocolate flavor with the lighter ricotta and the basic but very flavorful Cool Whip frosting. And though it’s very much edible after a few hours’ refrigeration, I think that you will agree that it tastes better if you give it the full overnight chill time.  Oh, and great though this chocolate creation idea is, you can use this same basic idea for a variety of flavors; just adjust the flavor of the pudding you use in the frosting to fit the flavor cake that you decide to choose.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Chew Nibble Nosh

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Quick tip: Use your favorite instant pudding mix for a new flavor!