Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

If you're wondering what to do with your garden okra (or just like some Cajun cookin'), here is your recipe!  If I don't have enough okra to cook as a side dish for the whole fam, I slice it and throw into a freezer bag and keep adding as more okra comes in.  When I've got 1 1/2 cups, I make gumbo.  This is also a good way to use up leftover cooked chicken or turkey (hello Thanksgiving!).  You'll need about 2 cups cubed.

Like all stews, gumbo is gorgeous reheated.  Make it ahead for next-day service or freeze it in its fully-cooked form.  You can also make a freezer kit for the stew if you prefer.  You'll have to cook the roux before making the freezer kit, so give yourself plenty of time.

Here is the I Screw Up So You Don't Have To portion of the program...brown the meats in a skillet and make your roux in your soup pot (if you're making the soup start-to-finish, ignore this if you're making a freezer kit).  Or clean your soup pot really well after browning the sausage and chicken and before making the roux.  Any "browned bits" stuck to the pot after browning will act like a magnet for the roux and cause it to scorch.  Yuck.  Remaking a roux doesn't really cost much in terms of ingredients, but it does cost a good bit of time.

Making the characteristic Cajun "red" roux isn't much different than making a light roux for white sauce.  You just cook it longer.  But it is a bit like playing chicken...you want to cook it as dark as you can without burning it.  This is one time when stirring the pot CONSTANTLY really is necessary.  I turn off the heat when I achieve peanut-butter colored roux, though some recipes encourage an even darker color. 

Last note...the Cajun mirepoix or Trinity is onion, celery and green bell pepper.  I use carrot instead of celery here as I'm cooking around a food sensitivity, but feel free to use either.


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Easy-easier-easiest: Okra

Please don't change the channel just because you *think* you don't like okra!  I studiously avoided it for a long time, but finally caved to household pressure (ie my husband) and made oven-fried okra once...I am now hooked!  It is not slimy when cooked (although it is slimy while cutting, to be completely truthful).  Okra season (NOW) makes a welcome break from the mid-summer zucchini-fest as well. 

Now for the hard-sell...Okra is low calorie when prepared plainly as in the grilled recipe below, high in vitamins K, A, and C and as well as folic acid and fiber, and is one of the most antioxidant-dense green veggies out there. 

We grow our own okra now as it's not always easy to find fresh okra at the store. Frozen is OK for most purposes, but fresh is best. If you happen to have an abundance of fresh okra, slice it and freeze it in 1-2 cup amounts (clumped up is fine) to use in stews and gumbos.

How can you not give it a go? Especially when even my veggie-avoidant 16 month old just asked very politely, using signs, for more okra? Come on people...

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