I took chicken and sausage gumbo to a Souper Christmas party last night. I did not bring a drop of it back home. This recipe comes from a friend who grew up in Louisiana with a couple of added things from Emeril Lagasse. It makes a real tasty gumbo. It’s not the most healthy soup you can make but like I always say everything in moderation.

What a beautiful day it was yesterday. I got out and walked both dogs a mile each. Then went for a 10 mile bike ride. I also took our outside Christmas lights down and made my gumbo. It was a pretty productive day. I did not do so good calorie wise at the party last night but I did get a lot of exercise.

So here is the gumbo – enjoy!

Makes 17 cups and is 298 Calories per cup and 25 grams of fat.

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 medium onions chopped
6 stalks of celery chopped
2 large bell peppers chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
8 cups chicken stock (Giant eagle has a nice boxed stock or you can make your own.)
1 chicken (I bought the roasted chicken at the store or you could boil it yourself.)
1 lb. smoked sausage,(i.e. andouille or kielbasa, andouille is the desired)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf or an 1/8 teaspoon of dried crushed bay leaf
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning.
½ teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon file powder
2 cups cooked long grain white rice

If you are going to boil your own chicken and make your own stock here is what you should do. The day before you’re ready to make your gumbo, take a whole chicken and place it in a large stockpot (ours is about 5 qt.). Add enough water so chicken is covered by 2” of water and cover with lid. Heat to rolling boil and reduce heat to medium-high and cook, covered, at a low boil for 1 ½ hours or until meat falls easily from the bones. Remove chicken and bones from water and set aside in dish. Strain stock into container and, when cooled, place in refrigerator. When chicken is cool, remove meat from bones and refrigerate. The next day, skim the fat off the top of the chicken stock; if it is not congealed enough, you can put the pot in the freezer for a half hour before attempting to skim off the fat.

Bring chicken stock to rolling boil. In another pan add the oil and stir  flour is slowly and  stir constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until veggies are wilted. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Now add roux and veggies to your boiling stock and mix well. Add the next 8 ingredients (chicken through hot sauce). Stir until the roux mixture and stock are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Add file powder after about 45 minutes of cooking. Remove bay leaf and serve over rice.