Fabulous Food Friday: Gumbo

Oh my goodness! I have never made gumbo before and tried the Paula recipe. Paula and I are on a first name basis now in case you were wondering. The other day, Carter and I were at Penney's. I told him I wanted to look at the cooking stuff. He said "Mom, let's go find Paula". One of the sales ladies heard and started laughing.

So, even though this is definitely not the most cajun recipe for gumbo, it sho' was good! It made such a huge amount that we froze half of it. Theo said "Don't you want to give some away, maybe take some to Jeff and Amy?" I said "No, I chopped for almost 45 minutes. This is too much work to give away!" Maybe next time.

Here's the recipe (taken from foodnetwork.com) Sorry I didn't get any pictures, I was too busy gobbling it up!

Ingredients

3 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices (turkey sausage for us of course!)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons margarine
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems and leaves, coarsely chopped, plus chopped leaves for garnish
4 cups hot water
5 beef bouillon cubes
1 (14-ounce can) stewed tomatoes with juice
2 cups frozen sliced okra (I used fresh okra)
4 green onions, sliced, white and green parts
1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

Directions

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and remove. Add the sausage and cook until browned, then remove. Sprinkle the flour over the oil, add 2 tablespoons of margarine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until brown, about 10 minutes. Let the roux cool.

Return the Dutch oven to low heat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste and the 1/4 bunch parsley. Cook, while stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add 4 cups hot water and bouillon cubes, whisking constantly. Add the chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving add the green onions, shrimp and chopped parsley.