Mumbo Gumbo

WOW. I had no idea gumbo was so delicious! I read over about 5 or 6 gumbo recipes, and wanted to take my turn and try it. This recipe will NOT disappoint... everyone tonight had seconds! It received rave reviews from the 5 lucky enough to try it. ;) Oh, and my dog knocked over my camera the other day, so I don't have the step by step photos...although I have a backup so just be patient for the next posting...

You'll need the following:

1 1/4lb Kielbasa sausage, sliced thin (or you can use chicken apple sausage)

3 large skinless chicken breasts, each piece cut into thirds

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 tbs butter

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

fresh parsley

1 28oz can whole organic tomatoes

1/2 lb deveined, and peeled

4 cups good chicken stock

2 tbs Southwest Spices (equal parts cumin, cayenne pepper, salt,

In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot heat up about 3 tbs of olive oil, and add the slices of sausage and lightly brown them up. Remove them from the pan. Toss the cut chicken with two tbs of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and add them to the pan to brown on both sides. Do not worry about cooking chicken all the way through, you just want to get a good seal around the chicken. Once lightly browned, remove the chicken from the pan. Add in the diced onion, minced garlic and diced bell pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the butter and flour and stir constantly to get the the roux going, about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken stock, and mix together to combine the roux and stock. Add the chicken and sausage slices, and the can of whole tomatoes, including the juices. (I chopped the tomatoes first before adding them). Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally. I added another tbs of the Southwest Spices, but that's optional. Add in the shrimp, and let simmer until shrimp are cooked through, roughly 7-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice.