Beer-Glazed Sausage and Apples

This recipe was in an email I got one morning from bhg.com and I made it for dinner that same day! It just sounded so good and different to me - and we loved it! The original recipe says it makes 4 servings, but there were 3 of us and we finished every bit and definitely would have liked more - I'll increase the ingredient amounts next time in the hopes that I'll have some leftovers for breakfast :)

• 1 (12 ounce) bottle Belgium-style wheat beer, divided
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 14 ounce package smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, cut in 3-inch pieces 
• ½ pound fresh green beans
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 medium cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced 
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
• 8 small sage leaves

1. In a large saucepan combine 1/2 of the beer and the crushed re pepper; bring rio boiling. Add sausage and green beans. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 to 8 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 T. butter; add apples. Cook turning occasionally, until apples are just tender. Transfer to a platter. 

3. Add sausage to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Add to platter; cover. Drain fat from skillet.

4. Carefully add remaining beer to skillet (mixture may foam); stir to scrape up browned bits. Add remaining 1 T. butter, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and orange peel. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, 5 to 6 minutes or until slightly thickened. Return sausage and green beans to skillet to coat in glaze. Fold in apples. Return to serving platter. Sprinkle with sage. Makes  4 servings. 

Note: the only thing I changed is that I lightly fried the sage leaves after browning the sausage in the skillet, I'm not a huge fan of fresh sage and thought I'd prefer it cooked a bit. 

I googled what 'Belgium-style wheat beer' is and the first thing to come up was Blue Moon Light Sky Wheat Beer and for some reason I had one in the beverage fridge - weird. Someone must have left it, lucky for me hahaha. Oh, and in case you're wondering - this doesn't taste like beer at all!

per serving: 409 calories; total fat 24g; carb 31g; fiber 4g; sugar 18g; protein 15g

3.24.20: road trip day 2

3.24.19: 🔥week 12

3.24.18: organizing craft paper

3.24.17: B's bubble maker

3.24.16: deviled egg chicks