Gumbo Crock Pot Style

After a sweltering summer, finally the air is crisp and cool and the leaves on the trees are slowly beginning their transition from green to various shades of orange, gold and brown, autumn has arrived in the Carolina’s.

Gumbo in the Crock Pot~ Low and Slow

Yesterday morning, with a chill in the air and the anticipation of Sunday football I thought it was a perfect day to pull out the slow cooker and prepare a pot of gumbo.

If you follow my blog you already know that Gumbo is one of my family’s favorite dishes.

If it is just my hubby Doug and I for dinner I freeze part of the batch for a quick and delicious meal to be enjoyed another day. If we have a full house it is hard to find a drop of gumbo left at the end of the meal, which I think is a good sign.

I had spicy red peppers and green peppers in the freezer from Poplar Ridge Farms, also on hand sweet yellow onions, garlic and home grown herbs.

I originally posted a gumbo recipe on my blog on March 3, 2011 and that recipe did not include Okra. I like to add in Okra when it is available and I currently found Okra in the freezer section at the local market which works great with this recipe. I also add a roux to smooth out the flavor and thicken the Gumbo.

Enjoy, we did! Cheers!

Revised from March 3, 2011

Ingredients:

      Four chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces (this time I tossed the whole chicken breast       in, they cooked down beautifully, when cooked I used a fork to shred right in the pot)

•         2 packages of Andouille or Chicken Sausages cut into bite size pieces: 
          Usually 5 sausages per package

–         1 medium yellow onion, diced

•         4 garlic Cloves peeled and diced

     1 large green bell peppers diced, red or yellow work just as well

•         3 small spicy red peppers

•         4 celery stalks cleaned and diced

•         1 cup okra Optional, the roux will thicken the Gumbo if you do not have Okra as a thickner

•         6 cups organic Chicken broth

•         1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

•         2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning~ Like real spicy? This is your Gumbo so spice it up 
•         Option

–          1 lb Shrimp, cleaned and deveined

•         2 cups cooked rice, I like brown rice

          Roux: 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of flour

     Cooking Directions:

•         Place the chicken in the Crock Pot or your slow cooker, toss in sliced sausage, onion, garlic,        peppers and okra, cover with vegetable broth and tomatoes

–         Turn the slow cooker on low for 8 hours (always reference the cooking instructions for your       slow cooker, cooking time can vary by manufacturer)

•         Sprinkle in Cajun seasoning

•         Cook rice per the package, when the Gumbo is done cooking, turn slow cooker to warm

•         Place 1/4 to ½ cup of rice in each bowl and cover with a cup of Gumbo

•         If you are including shrimp add to the crock pot 1 hour before you serve the Gumbo

         Roux - I make this before I serve. Melt butter over medium heat, slowly had the flour and         cook until smooth and light brown. Add to the crock pot, stir and serve. 
         Can you say amazing!

   Sometimes I serve the Gumbo without rice, always your choice. And of course a crunchy            French baguette to sop up the Gumbo!

This is a perfect dish that you can enjoy with family and friends on a cool autumn day.

Just Cook Something! Cheers! Kary~