Family Visit and Gumbo Recipe

There is nothing like family. Period. It was nice to have a visit from my sister and her family today. I sure do miss my family, more than I ever knew I would. Finn plays so well with his cousins (after he warms up a bit) and I wish that he had more opportunities to hang out with his cousins on my side of the family. I guess it's all my fault for moving away.

I made gumbo for them tonight when they came over and my sister requested that I post the recipe on my blog, so here it goes... Disclaimer: Some of these items can only be found in stores in southern Louisiana.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients

Savoie's Dark Roux in a jar (Only use half of the jar)

One package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (There are usually around 6 in a package)

One package of Andouille Sausage

*One package of Guidry's Holy Trinity (see below if you do not have access to this)

Small bag of frozen okra

1 tablespoon tony chachere Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

Long Grain white rice

* Holy Trinity: 2 cups chopped onion, 1 ½ cups chopped celery, and 1 ¼ cups chopped green bell pepper

Steps

1. Heat olive oil up in a skillet. Add chicken thighs and fresh seasoning (holy trinity). Lightly brown chicken.
2. In a large pot, add half of the jar of roux 1 cups water. Place on high and let this become a thick consistency. Stir often.
3. Add chicken thighs, trinity, and any juices left over from cooking into the roux mixture.
4. Add 6 more cups of water or more to fill your pot. Some of this water will evaporate as it boils over a few hours.
5. Slice sausage and place into the gumbo. Also, put the tony's into the mixture.
6. Bring the gumbo to a boil. Turn down to low and let simmer for around 3 hours.
7. Take the frozen okra out of the freezer and thaw on the counter. Place in the gumbo with one hour left to cook.
8. Make rice according to the package.
9. Serve over rice with a scoop of potato salad (place directly into the gumbo) and french bread.

 Notes: The longer you cook the gumbo, the thicker it will get. If you like a "runnier" gumbo, you can always add more water. Most of these measurements are done by eye and taste, so you may want to add more cajun seasoning, more water, etc. In my opinion, the roux mixture makes the taste of the gumbo. It is very rich and we prefer the dark roux over the light.

Boiling away!

Cousin love!

Sweet Emily

Ipad fun!