Em's Gumbo

For those of you that know me, gumbo has become one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It is by far the perfect meal for a cold winter Sunday. 

 I actually make this much at one time and then freeze individual portions for later. That way I can get a yummy dinner, lunch and then 2 surprise meals at a later time! 

As always, I got so excited about eating that I forgot to take a finished product pic. Much just take a deep breath and imagine the smell of New Orleans cuisine filling your kitchen. Ahhhhhhh

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs- cut into similar bite sized pieces

1 lb andouille sausage(I buy Aidells Cajun Andouille)cut into similar bite sized pieces

1 smoked ham hock(I highly recommend Whole Foods-super affordable, but Publix carries them too)

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

¼ cup flour

¼ cup olive oil plus 2-3 Tbs

32 oz box chicken stock
salt/pepper to taste

1 cup frozen okra

Jasmine rice- cooked according to package directions

Pre heat 2-3 Tbs olive oil in dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot to medium heat. Add all meat to pan, including ham hock. Allow to sear for 10-12 minutes on all sides.

Remove meat and set aside. Reduce heat to medium low and in same pot add ¼ cup olive oil and flour.  Whisk flour and oil constantly for 10-20 minutes or until a dark golden brown color. Once the proper color, add onion and pepper to pot. Cook veggies for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Add meat back to pan(including ham hock). Cover with entire box of chicken stock and stir to combine.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce back to medium low heat. Cook for 3-4 hours.

At about 3.5 hours, remove ham hock from pot. Pull all meat from hock and place back in the gumbo. Add okra. Cook another 30 minutes or until okra is cooked through.

Serve over jasmine rice!

Serves 4 people.