Pot Luck Main Dish, oh no!

Pot lucks are the place where everyone comes to show off their best casserole, dessert or salad. We no-dairy people are lucky if we can find one or two things to eat here, or even worse, for our hungry children to eat.
I rapidly tired of having to corner people with "which dish is yours? What is in it?". Short of just arriving with a bag lunch (which I have done), I resorted to volunteering (no, insisting) that I bring a main dish. Here is a dish that I have made many times, and is always well received. So well, in fact, that there have been times when I have made my way through the line to find that it was all gone before I got there! Solution: double this recipe and use a really large dish (pyrex 1ox15" oblong casserole). The real beauty of this dish is that it is easy, can be made with items easy to keep on hand, and can be made quickly when you are in a hurry.
Writing all this down has presented some interesting problems. For instance, I am one of those cooks who just throws things in. How much basil? Uh, take the shaker (yes, I use basil so often, it's in a shaker on the back of the stove), and shake it over the surface until it 'looks right'. That's not going to work! Here goes anyhow:

Cornbread Topped Tamale Casserole
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped (or more, I like more)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (or beef, etc)
1 15oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 15oz can of kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 10oz can condensed tomato soup
1 4.25oz chopped olives
1 tsp chopped dried basil
1 tsp mild chili powder
2 whole bay leaves
1 8.5oz box "Jiffy" corn muffin mix
1 egg
10x10" casserole with at least 2" tall sides, a
large cast iron frying pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a large saute or frying pan (a large size cast iron frying pan is ideal, as it can go straight from the stovetop to the oven), heat olive oil and saute all fresh vegetables until they are soft. Add ground meat, separating meat into small pieces. Saute until thoroughly until there is not even a hint of pinkness in the meat. If you are using turkey or chicken here, you are ready for the next step. If you are using ground beef, you will need to remove the residual fat from the pan before you proceed.

Add the drained corn and kidney beans, condensed tomato soup (don't dilute it!) and chopped olives. Stir until everything is well combined (medium high seems to work well for this), and once it's bubbling away nicely, add the basil, chili powder and basil leaves. Turn down to low, and after putting on the lid, let it simmer for half an hour. However, if you are in a tearing hurry (and who isn't sometimes), this dish will still turn out well if it goes straight into the casserole dish right now (or stays right in the pan, if you are using cast iron).

Place into the casserole pan. Using a spatula or the back of a large spoon, flatten the mixture until it is as level as possible. Bake for about one half hour, and then remove casserole. This another good place to cut corners on time. If you really don't have much time, skip this 30 minute bake. It will still be good.

In a medium bowl, place the corn muffin mix, one egg (without the shell of course), and 1/3 cup water. Yes, I know the box says to use milk, but I use water. If I happen to have an open box of soy milk or almond milk, I use that, but the water works just fine. Mix well, and pour carefully over the surface of the meat/vegetable mixture. Using a spatula, smooth the cornbread as evenly across the top as you can, but don't obsess. And don't stir!

Place the casserole into the oven. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes. The casserole is done when the cornbread topping is lightly browned.

Let cool to less 'burn your skin' hot, cover with foil (not plastic), and away you go!

This recipe can easily be doubled, but if you do, use at least a 10x15" baking pan.