Gumbo

**Disclaimer**  I am not a Southern gal.  I was born in Tahoe, California and spent most of my life in Northern Utah.  The closest thing I've ever even come to the South is spending 2 weeks in Dallas with a friend in college, but I'm not sure that counts.  So please forgive me if this Gumbo recipe is not remotely authentic.  Not authentic, but yummy nonetheless.  I did a little looking for Gumbo recipes (because I'd never had it before and had no idea what was in it).  After I had a fairly good grasp of what it actually was, I set about making my own recipe. (See what I mean by not authentic?)

First, a little about the roux that this recipe calls for.  A roux is super simple to make.  It is a mixture of a fat (butter or my favorite bacon grease)  and flour.  All you do is melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook and stir for a minute or two.  Roux is something that I always have stocked in my fridge.  I use it when I need to thicken soups, stews and anything else that needs thickening.  I keep it in a plastic container in my fridge so I always have it ready.  It stores up to 4 months.

Gumbo
12" dutch oven

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 lb. chicken, cut into chunks
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 stalks sliced celery
8 oz. kielbasa, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbs. Creole spice blend (I used Tony Cachere's)
~1/4 cup roux (more as needed to reach desired thickness)

Roux

1/2 cup butter (real butter)
1/2 cup flour

Heat the oil in your dutch oven over a full spread of coals.  Add the chicken, brown and remove.  Add the onion, red pepper and celery to the pot.  Saute until the onion is golden.  Add the cooked chicken, sausage, stock, bay leaves, garlic and creole spice.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Move about 1/2 the coals to the lid to simmer.

While the pot is simmering, make the roux.  In a small dutch oven over a full spread of coals, melt the butter.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Continue to cook and stir for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

To thicken the Gumbo, add 1/4 cup of roux and stir until thickened.  Season with additional creole seasoning, salt and pepper if needed.  Serve over hot cooked rice.  Serves 6.

The Finished Product

The Review

This was really good if I do say so myself.  My kiddos loved it and my oldest son had 3 heaping plates full.  That's a winner in my book.  It was just spicy enough to be interesting, but not too spicy for my little kids.