gumbo

tom got me a crock pot for christmas and i’ve really been enjoying the brand new cooking world opened by it!  i started off on new years day making gumbo, not jambalaya.  the main difference between gumbo and jambalaya is that gumbo is a roux-based soup and jambalaya is a rice-based dish.  more about the roux later…

i wanted to eat our gumbo during game time, so i didn’t have a 7-9 hour window that the original recipe called for.  i pre-cooked my chicken before putting it in the crock pot, which cut down the cooking time significantly.  i also used tom’s favorite cajun style andouille, which is pre-cooked.  if you do have all-day, you can go ahead and throw everything (minus shrimp) in the pot un-cooked.

• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1/2 lb sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 c frozen, cut okra
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c chopped green bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 can undrained, diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 1/2 c frozen shrimp, cleaned, tails removed

1. in a small saucepan, combine flour and oil; mix well.  cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 5 min.  reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring constantly, about 8-12 min. or until roux turns a light red-brown (see above).
2. while you’re mixing the roux, pre-cook your chicken.  the pieces i cooked were twice as large as “bite sized” and when they had cooled, i pulled them apart so the chicken had a shredded feel to it in the gumbo.
   
   
3. pour the roux and chicken into a crock pot, set to low heat.  add the remaining ingredients (see above).  cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
4. add shrimp to the gumbo, cook on low for an additional hour.
5. serve the gumbo over hot cooked rice with cornbread.

enjoy!