Apr 24, 2017

Rainy Day Sausage Cornbread Casserole

It rained, and rained, and rained, and rained yesterday. For the millionth day in a row.  My friend, Whitney said it was a weekend suited only for reading and roasting chickens.

I was thinking cornbread and collards, myself.  And finishing up S-Town.

I saw my friend Channa at the grocery store yesterday, and got the giggles when we both proudly grabbed ham hocks out of our buggies.  She was making Slow Slow Chicken and lady peas (Whitney wasn't the only one on the last chicken train).

Mine was for this big old pot of collards.  Excuse the blurry picture.  The steam fogged my camera right up.  I used Paula Deen's recipe this time (I switch up my collard technique depending on my mood). They were mighty tasty.



Especially when paired with Sausage Cornbread Casserole.  

This comes from a Southern Living Cookbook- Fix It & Freeze It/Heat It & Eat It.  

We'd rummaged in the fridge for lunch, so I wanted something a bit more substantial for dinner.  So I added an extra pound of bulk sausage. Oops.

This took it from a bread with sausage and black eyed peas in it to a sausage and black eyed pea casserole held together with cornbread.  Morgan compared it to eating a slice of sausage ball.  He was not wrong.  Nor is eating a big old piece of sausage ball.  It's a delicious way to balance out all those antioxidants and fiber from the collard greens.

Sausage and Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lbs mild bulk sausage
1 medium onion
1 cup white cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar (You can even use pre-shredded here)
3/4 cup cream-style corn
1( 4 oz can) chopped green chiles, drained

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Brown sausage and onion in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink, stirring the sausage into crumbles.  Drain.

2.  Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, stir together eggs, buttermilk, and oil until combined.  Add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened (it will be lumpy).  Add sausage mixture, peas, and remaining ingredients to batter stirring well.

3.  Pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish.  OR 2 8x8's.  I like to stick one in the freezer after baking it.  Always good to have an extra supper on hand!

4.  Bake at 350 for about an hour (mine went over for about 10 minutes), until golden and set.

To cook from frozen- Bake at 350 for 1 hour, covered.  Uncover and cook and additional 10 minutes.

Now I'm going to have a leftover slice for breakfast, cuddle my fussing baby, and draft some contracts for work.  However, when I see you in the grocery store making a good blog recipe, and you ask for more, I can't help but squeeze in some room for blogging!