Sausage Safety

• The sausages may be smoked, cured or raw. Check the package for cooking directions. While fully cooked smoked or cured sausage could be served right from the package, heating them improves the flavor. Raw sausages made from chicken must be cooked before serving and reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you serve them. Raw sausages made from pork, veal or beef must reach an internal temperature of 160 F.

Casseroles and Stuffed Vegetables

• Charge up your favorite casserole by swapping the meat for spicy sausages. For example, chicken baked in rice takes on a Cajun flavor when you use andouille. Add the sausage to macaroni and cheese for an adult version of a child's favorite. Use a spicy bratwurst sausage with a potato and cabbage casserole. Stuff vegetables such as portobello mushrooms, green peppers or squash. Dice the sausage and cook with onions, garlic, shallots or leeks. Add as much cooked rice or breadcrumbs as you have sausage to make the stuffing.

Soups, Stews and Chili

• The advantage of soups, stews and chili is twofold. Once the ingredients are prepped these dishes cook without much attention from you. The second advantage is all you need to add for a complete meal is perhaps some crunchy bread. Gumbo includes all sorts of meats and vegetables but nearly always spicy sausage. A signature dish of Portuguese cooks is a soup made with spicy chorizo sausage, kale and potatoes. It's hearty and satisfying. You could use chicken broth for the base but the sausage is so flavorful you could use just water. Make an Italian stew with chunks of hot Italian sausage, eggplant, onions and green peppers. Thirty minutes before the stew is done throw in some rice or small pasta like orzo. Spicy chili gets its flavor from the sausage as well as beans, garlic and cumin. Add chopped vegetables such as carrots and summer squash to round out the dish.

Pasta Dishes and Sauces

• Kick up your tomato-based pasta sauce with crumbled cooked spicy sausage. You may think pepperoni is only for pizza but think again. Dice whole pepperoni or cut the thin slices into slivers and toss with olive oil, olives, capers and hot pasta for a quick dinner. Instead of ground meat in your lasagna, use the sausage. Slice the sausage into rounds and completely cook. Layer with lasagna noodles, cheese and fresh baby spinach leaves.

Great on the Grill

• It may be a challenge to grill raw spicy sausages. The outside may become charred before the inside is cooked through. One way to prevent that is to simmer the raw sausages until they're cooked and finish on the grill until the skin is dark golden brown. While you're at it, grill peppers, both sweet and spicy, and onions for an accompaniment.