Gumbo Gumbo Gumbo

My awesome roommates and I love themed parties.  This year our Christmas Party was Cajun themed (because we affectionately call our home “The Bayou”), which was basically an excuse to make GUMBO.  My friend Lauren and I also made some pretty awesome “Jumpin’ Jumbalaya” I’ll have to put on here sometime too…because it was jumpin.

This is a recipe I adapted from a recipe over at http://www.gumbocity.com/chiken_sausage2.html

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo!

About 2 lbs or so of chicken- cooked and de-boned.  Chicken breasts on the bone were 99 cents/lb when I made this so I used three of those!
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ c AP flour
2 smoked sausages or polish kielbasa (polish? In Gumbo? Whatever!)
2 medium onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
32 oz chicken stock or broth
2 (14- to 16-oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon cayenne (or more if you like things really spicy!)

2 bay leaves
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Cut the sausage into slices about .5 inch thick.  Brown the sausage a little with 1 T vegetable oil.  Then, set the sausage aside but drain off the fat and put it back in the pan.  Add the garlic, bell pepper, onions, and celery and cook until the onions start to become clear.  Now you get to make a roux.  Add the rest of your oil to the pot and push the veggies over to one side.  Get your whisk ready, because you’re going to need it.  Whisk the flour into the oil/sausage fat (mmm, doesn’t that sound good lol)  Keep whisking so it doesn’t get lumpy.  You have to let it cook for a little bit so it doesn’t taste floury later on.  Once it’s nice and thick, slowly add the chicken stock, still whisking.   Then add the tomatoes, the cooked chicken, and the sausage.  Toss in 2 bay leaves and the cayenne.  Let it simmer for a little while (at least 20 minutes) and you’re ready to eat!  Serve with rice!

P.S-  I like my gumbo with OKRA and SHRIMP too, but I didn’t put any in here because I was afraid people would be afraid of it.  But you should add some if you are partial to those, like I am.