Gumbo: South Beach Style

Younger sister Linda called me the other day asking if I had a gumbo recipe.  She had called our mother first.  I don't recall why my mother couldn't help and/or what lead Linda to me, but I didn't happen to have a recipe for gumbo off the top of my head or in my back pocket (shocker).  This meant I went to old faithful - allrecipes.com to find her one so that she could buy the ingredients on her way home from work (such a good sister). 

Linda knew she wanted to make it with brown rice which happened to be perfect because the recipe that initially caught my eye included brown rice.  She said it turned out really yummy!  I decided to make it myself for this week's meal.

Here is the original recipe:  Sunday Gumbo

Since I'm still doing the Phase 1 thing, I decided to nix the brown rice and to add in red beans - that way I'm still going all Cajun-like. 

Other modifications I made include:   nixing the sweet red pepper because I don't do cooked peppers (don't hate), using minced garlic in lieu of garlic powder, using olive oil in lieu of vegetable oil, using turkey Italian sausage links in lieu of Italian sausage links, doubling the celery, doubling the cayenne cuz I'm no wussy, increasing the okra cuz really...what am I gonna do with leftover okra?! and adding Cholula hot sauce.  Unfortunately, I also had to nix the shrimp even though I had already bought it and started writing this blog (pout).  Read here to see why. 






So here is my list of ingredients:

1 lb. turkey Italian Sausage, sliced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
3 TBSP olive oil
1 medium white onion, chipped
6 celery ribs, chopped
1TBSP minced garlic (I like lots of garlic - probably why I don't have a boyfriend)
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cayenne powder
3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used fire roasted)
1 can red beans, undrained
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (missing in action - travesty)
1 bag frozen okra, sliced
Cholula hot sauce to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, brown sausage and chicken in the oil.  Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings.  Saute the onion, minced garlic, and celery until tender.  Add in the seasonings and cook for another 5 minutes.  *Stir in the broth, beans, chicken, and sausage bringing the whole mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

*Note: If you are making this dish with rice, you will add in 2/3 cup UNCOOKED brown rice when you stir in the broth above.

Stir in the tomatoes, shrimp (tears), and okra.  Cook for another 10 minutes or until the shrimp (le sad) is pink, stirring occasionally.  Buen provecho!