GUMBO!!!


Yep, last night, I unleashed my "Inner Cajun" (which is interesting, considering my biological heritage is Dutch and British) and made some seafood gumbo! I did have to do some research on the internet to find a few nice recipes to mix and match from. I learned that there's a lot more to putting together a good gumbo than just rice, meat, seasonings and okra-! Oooooeeee! ;)

One surprise for me was to learn that it is almost a capital crime to use imitation crabmeat in any gumbo worth it's weight in shrimp, so I made sure to use the real deal!

There's so much love and pride wrapped up in a hearty batch of gumbo -- and that's just the combination I was looking for.

So, here's my recipe for "Seafood Smorgasbord Gumbo..."

Ingredients - Creole Seasoning* (2 tablespoons) - Red bell pepper (1 cup, remove seeds, cut into strips and then cut into 1-inch chunks) - Yellow onion (1 cup chopped into small chunks) - Jarred garlic puree (1 teaspoon) - Long grain white rice (1/4 cup) - Olive oil (2 tablespoons) - White flour (1 tablespoon) - 1 Bay leaf - Chicken Stock (organic preferred, 3 cups) - One 10-oz. can of chunk chicken (drain most of the water from can before adding) - Pre-cooked medium-sized shrimp (1/2 pound) - One 6-oz. can of real crabmeat (drain most of the water from can before adding) - Pre-cooked sausage (1 link) - Frozen okra (1 10-oz. package) - Diced tomatoes (1 14-oz. can, no salt)

* Creole Seasoning is made of: Salt (2 tablespoons) Garlic Salt (1 teaspoon) Celery Salt (1 teaspoon) Basil leaves (1 tablespoon) Oregano leaves (1 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper (1 tablespoon) Black Pepper (1 tablespoon) Paprika (3.5 tablespoons) Crushed Thyme (1 tablespoon) (Blend throughly - makes about 1/4 cup) Directions 1. PRAY. No, I'm not kidding! 2. Add red bell pepper, onion, garlic puree and olive oil to large cooking pot over high heat 3. Blend in flour 4. Add chicken stock 5. Add diced tomatoes, rice and okra 6. Add Creole seasoning and bay leaf 7. Bring to a boil 8. Cover and simmer for 6 - 12 minutes, to soften the okra 9. Add chunk chicken and crabmeat 10. Add sausage and shrimp 11. Cook at low heat for 5 minutes 12. Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and cover

Easily serves 5 - 6.

Unleash your Inner Cajun today!

Best Wishes,
Allen