Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Based off of a friend's recipe, plus these recipes from Allrecipe and recipezaar. Below is my version, using chicken sausage since I don't eat the real thing!




Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb chicken breasts
1 package of al fresco Spicy Jalapeno chicken sausages (package of 4), cut in half vertically, then sliced into bite size pieces
1 large onion, chopped into bite size pieces
2 bell peppers (I used red and green), chopped into bite size pieces
4 stalks celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 cups chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
About 2 cups frozen chopped okra
Optional: Hot Sauce (preferably Louisiana brand)
Brown rice, cooked

Directions:
Boil the chicken until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Once cooked, shred into bite size pieces.

Heat oil over medium heat in saute pan. Add sausage, onions, peppers, celery, and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and celery is soft.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, whisk in flour. Continue whisking until the roux has cooked to the color of chocolate milk, 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the roux. If you see black specks in the mixture, start over.

When you're happy with the color of your roux, add 2 cups of chicken broth, stir, making sure there are no lumps or anything sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then add the remaining 2 cups of broth. Add in the sausage/vegetable mixture once that is soft enough as well as the reserved shredded chicken. Add bay leaf, cajun seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add okra and another 1-2 cups of water depending on how thick you would like the gumbo. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

Serve gumbo over brown rice, or mix rice into the gumbo right before serving.