Angie's Gumbo

When my sister Angie was in college, she had a roommate from Louisiana who gave her this amazing gumbo recipe. Up until then, I had no idea gumbo was so amazing! (Seriously. Watching The Princess and the Frog makes me crave it now...) I had heard about gumbo of course, but growing up in California, had never had it. Now, it's one of the few recipes I have that actually makes me feel slightly southern. Lol. (the other two being my great uncle's hush puppies recipe and my great aunt's sweet potato souffle).

Here's how to make this dinner (not sure if it qualifies as a soup or stew? It kind of feels like its own category...).

First, add 1 1/2 cups rice and 3 cups water to a pot. Bring this to a boil over high heat. Then, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for 25 minutes for white rice or 45 minutes for brown rice.

While the rice is cooking, add 7 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder (or 7 cubes of chicken bouillon) to 7 cups of water in a large pot.

To this, add 3/4 cups of Roux (if you're using the powdered version - you can find it online or in some grocery stores).

Sprinkle a layer of Cajun Seasoning over the top of the Roux in the pot. This part takes a bit of eyeballing it and guess work. Just be careful not to add too much. Maybe start with a teaspoon and add more later if you want more flavor. Also, I've used creole seasoning when I didn't have cajun and it works great as well!

Add the chicken to the Roux mixture and cook on low until the chicken is tender.

While the chicken cooks, chop up the green onions (optional).

Remove the chicken from the pot to a plate and cut it up into bite sized pieces.

Next, chop up the sausage and brown it in another pan. Once it is done, add the chicken, green onions, and sausage to the pot.

Prepare the shrimp according to the package directions. This may require thawing it and cutting off the tails. If the shrimp is already cooked, add it to the gumbo a few minutes before you're ready to serve it so it can heat up. If the shrimp is not cooked, let it cook in the pot for the time listed on the package directions.

Once the shrimp is added and the roux mixture is heated throughout, it's time to assemble! And, no, this version of "assemble" doesn't require a superhero costume... but if you want to wear one, go for it. Haha!

Put some rice in a bowl (as much as you want to eat) and pour the soup mixture with the meat over the top of the rice. At this point, you can add hot sauce or more Cajun seasoning if you want to.

And it's done!

Seriously. Anyone who has never made gumbo should try this recipe! It is life changingly good. And besides... everyone needs a recipe they can use to pretend that they're southern for a few days... or hours. We'll see how long this gumbo lasts....