Breakfast Polenta with Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausage and Daiya Cheddar

For all you hungry Mexican food aficionados who enjoy a hearty, (a bit spicy) and savory breakfast or brunch, but have grown tired of the omnipotent tofu scramble, I give you this: The power of polenta - for breakfast!

Call me a fat kid, I don't care, but when I couldn't decide between oatmeal and muffins, I made oatmeal cakes, and when I couldn't decide to only eat oatmeal cakes for breakfast - I made this too. And thank the vegan kitchen gods I did! I couldn't stop eating it. In fact, I made enough for two (so I could save some for later), but I ate the whole thing! Oh boy.

This was inspired by my recent trip to NYC where I had brunch at a little restaurant in the lower east side called, Caravan of Dreams. I got the french toast. My best friend got the polenta. When our food came out, it was obvious I would be secretly seething with jealousy no matter how good my french toast was.

Need I say more? Oh yes, on thing more: enjoy!

Ingredients:

(makes 4 servings)

1 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shredded Cheese

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup water

1 cup polenta (or regular cornmeal - I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 - 15oz can organic corn, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausages, crumbled

1 pint organic cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 small red onion, chopped

1/2 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Tofutti Sour Cream, to serve, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Put the Daiya Cheddar and the cilantro in a small bowl and mix to combine. Set aside

In another bowl, mix together the water, polenta, and corn. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a 13 x 9, 2 quart glass baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until water is absorbed and polenta is tender, but not too dry.

In a non-stick skillet, add the olive oil and the sausage and cook on medium-high heat, until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Lower the heat and add the tomatoes; simmer until they exude their juices, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Don't let them become translucent, you want them to still be colorful and a little crunchy. While this is happening, place another non-stick skillet on medium high heat and warm the black beans. Remove from heat after about 4 or 5 minutes.

Cut the polenta into squares and serve on individual plates. Top with sausage mixture, then beans, then cilantro and Daiya. Add Tofutti Sour Cream, if using.