So today I was in the mood for something different. I got out my cookbooks, and low and behold, it sat staring up at me from one of the first pages I flipped to -- Gumbo. Yum! Of course, it had to be converted to FS friendly, so with a little twitch here and there, it came together. I hope you like it!

1 c. onion
1 c. green pepper
1 c. celery
3 tsp. minced garlic
3-4 c. broth or stock (veggie or chicken)
2 bouillon cubes (veggie or chicken)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can kidney beans
2 large or 3 med bay leaves
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 c dried parsley
1-2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp liquid smoke (if desired)

seafood (shrimp, white fish, clams, oysters, etc...)
and/or
chicken -- pre-cooked (white meat)

Dice first three ingredients, and saute in a Pam sprayed pan. Add garlic and cook for about 2 min over med heat. Add almost all of the broth (hang onto about 1 cup). Stir together the rest of the broth and the cornstarch. Bring veggie/broth mix just to a quick simmer and add cornstarch mixture, as well as the bouillon cubes. Cook for about 5 min, stirring regularly. Add seasonings, beans, and tomatoes, and 1 can of water. Cook over med heat for another 15-20 min. Add raw seafood and/or COOKED chicken, and heat through (about 7-10 min).

Serve over brown rice.

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I'm not a warmed-up okra fan (it gets slimy when it sits), so I put beans in instead. If I were to use okra, I would make this exactly the same, omitting the beans (or not; they were pretty good), and only adding as much okra as I would eat at the VERY END of the cooking (I would add it to my bowl, and then heat that bowl through).

I made mine with seafood, as that is what I had on hand. I used shrimp, Tilapia, and canned/drained clams. This would be good with chicken, but be sure to cook the chicken through FIRST. If you like the taste of sausage in your gumbo, you might like a bit of liquid smoke to mimic that flavor. I did not add it, and thought it was yummy. I also used veggie broth and chicken bouillon for mine.

This makes a HUGE amount of gumbo!