"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

Three Bean Veggie Chili With Whole Wheat Cornbread

Oh yes, I not only bring you one recipe but TWO today. OK, so the chili today isn't really chili in the traditional sense but it has beans and a tomato-ey base, so it's good enough for me. Also, one can't really eat chili without some cornbread to dunk in it. Both recipes are oh-so-yummy and oh-so-vegan. Try to buy canned stuff that has either reduced sodium or no-salt-added labels. If you want a milder chili, deseed the jalapeño pepper before dicing or omit it altogether. This dinner will fill you up and leave a stupid grin on your face.

Three Bean Veggie Chili:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeño, finely diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 12-ounce can roasted red pepper, drained and diced
1 15-ounce can corn, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup vegetarian baked beans (with sauce)
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Saute the garlic, onions, green bell pepper, chili powder, cumin and oregano in the vegetable oil in a large pot on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add everything else and give it a good stir. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Yield: 8 servings

Whole Wheat Cornbread:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Combine all the dry ingredients (cornmeal through salt) into a large bowl. Stir in all the remaining wet ingredients. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Alternatively, you could bake in a muffin pan for about 20 minutes. Yield: 8 large "pie slices" or 12 muffins