Sausage Veggie Cornbread Casserole

I don't now where I got this recipe but I'm sure I saved it because it puts a combination of some of my favorite ingredients in my favorite presentation - a one pot meal!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1  lb bulk pork sausage
• 1  large onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1  large bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen okra, thawed (NOT breaded okra!)

• Topping

• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1 1⁄2 cups  self-rising cornmeal (see Self-Rising Cornmeal)
• 1  teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425ºF. Grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan.
2. In a large skillet, crumble sausage and cook till well browned, about 8 minutes, stirring often. Pour off excess fat, leaving a scant amount (1 teaspoon or so).
3. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic to browned sausage. Cook until tender, stirring often.
4. Stir in peas, tomatoes and thyme. Cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes.
5. Gently stir in okra.
6. Pour into baking pan.
7. Make topping:
8. Either: Mix up 2 packages of your favorite packaged brand.
9. Or: Combine the listed topping ingredients in a medium boml. Stir until smooth. Don't overbeat.
10. Spoon topping into pan around edges of sausage mixture.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.