Cornbread Mini Muffin Cajun Spiced Johnsonville Sausage Taco Salad

Easy Peasy...

 To continue my theme of Leftovers as an ingredient, I made these wonderful little "mini' muffins (Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins).  I made a batch to take to the neighbor's chili feed, and had about a dozen left over. (BTW, remember I am hosting a contest for BSI this week. This would certainly qualify, as I used my leftover cornbread as the base for the casserole. Click HERE to see the details of my BSI secret ingredient contest (along with a great prize). But I digress from the recipe).

I was plotting my dinner yesterday, and wanted to do something with the muffin leftovers.  A cornbread casserole came to mind and I hunted around for some ingredients.  A sort of taco salad came to mind, but instead of a taco seasoning, I decide to use my "Big Easy in a Jar" Cajun Spice mix.  Combined well with the hamburger/sausage mix.  Certainly added a zing to the meat!  You all remember, I make this up in a batch that lasts for a couple months.  So, when needed, it is there for me to zing up a milder dish!

Finally, I used a 50/50 mix of hamburger and sausage.  I had a couple of Johnsonville sausages leftover (there's that theme again).  I just split the casing, removed the meat and mixed with the hamburger.

Honestly, the hard part of this was coming up with the idea.  The rest just comes together fast and easy...

Here's what I did...

2 Johnsonville Suasages (casings removed)

1/2 pound Hamburger

1/2 Red Onion (Diced and divided)

12 mini Corn Muffins

2 TSP "Big Easy in a Jar" Cajun Spice mix (Can substitute a commercial brand, or a taco seasoning mix)

1/4 pound shredded White Cheddar Cheese

1 diced large fresh Tomato

Sour Cream to garnish

The only cooking part is to brown the meat, adding 1/2 the red onions and spice mix.

Then, I worked in layers.  I put a base of the muffins down, put a metal ring on top and filled the ring with the seasoned cooked meat.  Topped that with the cheese.  I did put this under the broiler at this stage, for only about 5 minutes, to melt the cheese.  When I removed the ring, the meat gently oozed and settled a bit, but the cheese mostly held the meat together to get the layered look I was looking for.

Top with the remaining onions and surround the base with some fresh tomatoes.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, and you have a wonderful dish, attractive presentation, and a fun use for your leftovers!

I did a second "type" of presentation for my wife's plate, same recipe, same techniques, but a slightly different look...

The cheese covered too much of the meat, so I was not as happy with the look.  BUT, the taste was perfect!

Just in case you need it, here's a few photos showing how I came up with my plating...

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