"Sausage" and Corn Casserole

I recently stumbled upon this amazing stuff called Gimme Lean Sausage. It's fat free, vegan, packed with protein and seriously delicious. I was in the mood for some comfort food, so I came up with this casserole dish. Like many of my creations, this makes a lot of food, but your taste buds will thank you everyday at work when lunchtime rolls around.

Casserole Filling:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 large russet potato, skinned and diced into small cubes

1 14 ounce package Gimme Lean Ground Sausage

1 15 ounce can black olives, drained and roughly chopped

1 15 ounce can yellow corn, drained

1 large tomato, diced

Cornbread Topping:

1 1/2 cups corn meal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave nectar etc.)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Saute the onions and garlic together until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Add the spices (oregano to salt) and potato and mix well. Let cook until potatoes begin to brown (5-6 minutes, as you are waiting prepare the cornbread by mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately then pouring the liquids into the dry and mixing thoroughly). Crumble the sausage into the pan and let it heat through. Pour this entire mixture into a large casserole dish. Add the olives, corn and tomato and mix thoroughly. Pour the cornbread batter over the top of the filling and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until cornbread is done baking. Slice and serve with a sweet salsa (pineapple, peach or mango salsa works well). Yield: 8 servings