Low-fat and Herb-loaded Sausage

As good as sausages are on their own, they can also form the basis of many other dishes. Simmering a spicy sausage link in bean soup or crumbling one into scrambled eggs can double the pleasure. Your own sausages can be the “what is it?” ingredient in many a complex-flavored dish.

• Crumble sausage meat and cook until the color changes. Drain and transfer to a glass pie plate; cover with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and bake until bubbling. Serve spread on warm flour tortillas. For variety, add fresh sliced onions, peppers, and mushrooms while the sausage is cooking.
• Wrap a roll of fully cooked fresh sausage in bread dough, either homemade or purchased dough sold frozen in grocery stores. Let it rise and bake it according to the recipe or instructions on the package, cool it on a rack, and slice it to serve as appetizers with a spicy or savory mustard.
• Use cooked sausage in quesadillas or as a pizza topping.
• Toss cooked sausage with pasta and top with a rich tomato sauce; serve with crisp sautéed or steamed veggies.
• Stuff a roasting chicken or turkey with spicy sausage meat combined with cooked rice or other grains or soft bread crumbs and vegetables.