Spicy Crawfish Gumbo

3 ribs of dark green celery

1 med. purple onion

1c white rice

½ yellow pepper

1 poblano pepper

1 lg. purple shallot

5 lg. cloves of garlic

a big handful of green beans

2T butter

¾-1 cup of white wine

1T Old Bay Seasoning

1T raw or turbinado sugar

1t-1T really good lemon pepper

1t-1T fresh ground garlic sea salt

1 28oz can of petite diced tomatoes

28oz. or a little more, water

3c frozen okra

1# Louisiana Crawfish

Saute' the first group of sliced or chopped ingredients in butter and white wine for about 15 minutes, stirring often.  Add seasonings, tomatoes, water and simmer another 30-60 minutes.

Add okra and crawfish and continue to simmer, or if your liquid is running out, you can also bake it in the oven for a half hour or more.  Depending on the amount of liquid desired, this is either a soup or a stew.

But ohhh, so good - either way! 😀 . . .Lin

Chorizo-Chicken Gumbo

1# good quality chorizo sausage

1# grilled (or raw) chicken breast

1-2T butter or oil

1 med. purple onion

½ mixed grain rice

1c chopped green pepper

1c chopped celery and tops

7 lg. cloves garlic - minced

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

24oz. of water

3 bay leaves

1t-1T sugar

2t smokey paprika

8-12oz. frozen okra

Slit the chorizo casings and squeeze the sausage out into a 5qt. pot.  Add bite-size pieces of chicken breast, oil and about ⅓ of the onion, minced.  Simmer over low heat until everything's sizzling, for about 15 minutes.  Add the rest of the onion, the rice, celery, green pepper and garlic.  Stir, saute' and continue to cook until everything's snapping.  Add the tomatoes, water, bay leaves, sugar and paprika.  Stir together, cover and simmer about a half hour.  Add the okra and simmer on low another 20-40 minutes.  Check the flavor after about 10 minutes and make adjustments, if needed.

This makes a big pot of gumbo and is perfect for a really chilly day with some biscuits or cornbread.  It's also nice to have a big bowl of this if you're trying to fight off a virus.  If your chorizo is on the greasy side, you'll want to scrape some of that off the top before you heat it the next time.  For right now though, if you fold a paper towel to approximate the size of your pot, drop that on top, let it absorb, remove it, throw it away and repeat a few times. . .Lin

Andouille and Shrimp Jamba-Gumbo-Laya

8oz. frozen raw shrimp (tail and shell on)

8-12oz Andouille sausage

These were both frozen, and that's a good way to begin.  Remove tails (and shells) from the shrimp, when thawed a bit.  


When the andouille is thawed enough to cut, cut it in rounds, then halves, and some in quarters.  Let both of these thaw together in the large, heavy pot you'll be using.  When they're completely thawed, scoop out the shrimp, cut each one in half, and set them aside.  Do NOT drain liquid from the pot.  Add a little herbed olive oil, toss everything around, then add a cup or two of water.  Bring to a simmer, cover and let slowly simmer, for 30-45 minutes, checking occasionally to be sure there is still water in the pot.  If it gets low, add another cup.  After this, cool a little, then get all the shells out and discard.  While the andouille and shrimp tails-shells are simmering, prep the following vegetables:

1 lg. carrots - sliced

2 lg. ribs of celery - sliced

5 multi-colored mini peppers - chopped

2T garlic--fresh or jarred in olive oil - minced

1-2T herbed olive oil 

½t ground oregano

1t coarse ground garlic salt 

1t fresh ground black pepper

1t Creole, Cajun or Italian seasoning

1 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes

1t sugar, brown or white, or honey

½-¾c rice (white, wild, brown and/or red)

1/2c celery heart tops

2 14.5oz cans okra - drained but not rinsed

the shelled--de-tailed shrimp

Slice, chop and mince all the vegetables into a medium size bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients in this group, then toss, several times, marinating in lots of flavor, until the shrimp tails and shells are out of the pot.

Put the contents of this bowl into the pot, with more water now, if needed.  Simmer, covered for half an hour, to an hour or longer, depending on which type of rice you're using and its cooking time.  Add more water if needed, with some chicken soup base, return to a simmer.  

Now add the okra and shrimp.  GENTLY fold those in, so as not to break them up.  Watch, stir gently, and pay attention to the shrimp.  As soon as it begins to turn a coral color, shut off the heat and serve.  This would be great just as it is, a big steamy bowl of it!  Or you could add some slices of a well-buttered, crusty ciabatta, French bread, or sourdough.  Oh my. . .this turned out SO well!  It's great the first day and even better chilled, heated and served the following day. . .Lin

Quick and Easy Gumbo

1 3oz. (or more) andouille sausage

1 med. onion chop-dice

1/2c white 20 minute rice

2T butter

2 cans of the wonderful mix shown 😊

I also added 2 chopped Kumatos *

12-16oz. fresh or frozen jumbo shrimp

Slice or dice the andouille and put in a large, non-stick pan with a little of the onion, rice and butter.  Sauté and stir, like you would for rice pilaf, until the rice begins to brown.  (I used a rice and quinoa mix, but I prefer just rice.)

Add the cans of tomato, okra and corn, additional tomato or Kumato if you want.  Stir, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  At this point, it you'll be eating right away, add the shrimp and slowly stir until the shrimp turn coral-pink.  Turn off the heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.  If you'll be eating later, don't add the shrimp.  The previous steps can be done even a day or two ahead of time, and the shrimp added just before serving. . .Lin

Pork and Shrimp Black Bean Gumbo

3 ears of fresh corn

1/3# ground pork

1 chopped onion

Cook the corn in boiling water or leave fresh. Cut kernels off the cob and set aside. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for about a minute then put them in a bowl of ice water. Saute' the pork and onion in a little butter until snappy and browning.

Add the following chopped ingredients:

3 Vidalia onions

sweet mini peppers

1 medium zucchini - or

12oz. fresh (sliced) or frozen okra

4-6 kale leaves w/ stem removed

4-6 peeled tomatoes

1# frozen shrimp - thawed and cleaned

1#± can black beans - drained and rinsed

Simmer and stir occasionally. Cook covered about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and black beans. Heat again and serve.  The shrimp will be tough if overcooked.  I also found this a bit bland.  If yours is too, add a couple tablespoons of powdered soup base and/or Cajun Seasonings :o) . . . Lin