Gumbo Sans Roux

My brother-in-law, Jeff is a self-proclaimed master of a pot of gumbo.  Cooking one is an all day affair usually involving watching some sort of sporting event and imbibing in some sort of frosty beverage.  The first year Dean and I were married, I worked for Jeff.  At the time, it was a small operation, and Friday's were usually slow.  It wasn't uncommon for Jeff to make a mid-day grocery run and start cooking in the office kitchen.  That is where I learned to make a gumbo.  I watched, chopped some veggies, and took in a few words of wisdom, "it's all about the chicken."  One afternoon wanting to try it at home, I actually pocketed the grocery list to make sure I didn't forget anything.  The roux took forever!  Way too time consuming for me, and since I come from three generations of gumbo sans roux cooks, I knew that I really wasn't breaking a cardinal rule of Cajun cooking.  Really, I'm not.  When Dean and I first moved to Texas, and it was time to start cooking on my own on a regular basis, I was able to use what I learned from Jeff and what I learned from my parents and grandparents, plus a few shortcuts of my own.  So, as I am sure Jeff's gumbo has evolved in the 6-plus years since I pirated his recipe, I am pretty sure so has mine.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

season-all

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

Louisiana hot sauce

chicken thighs

sausage

onion

bell pepper

celery hearts

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 bag of frozen okra

1 carton of chicken broth

Rice

Directions:

Season the chicken thighs with the first five ingredients.  Use your biggest pot.  Drizzle with olive oil and fry the chicken about 5 minutes on each side.  Meanwhile, chop your veggies (onion, bell pepper and celery).  Remove chicken and saute veggies in the same pot.  Chop up the sausage, and throw it into the pot.  Let everything cook down, and add the frozen okra and stewed tomatoes.  The tomatoes stop the okra from being slimy.  Chop up the cooked chicken and add it back to the pot.  Finally, add the chicken broth.  Season to taste.  Bring the pot to a boil then simmer for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better.  Serve with rice.