Gumbo

First, I don't use a recipe, but I tried to find one that was almost to what I do and change it around some. :) My boys ate this. They can be funny sometimes about what they eat. And they ate the okra. :) Mason asked if we could grow some in our garden. You can really change this around if you want. You can ad more of the veggies if you want more of them and if you don't like shrimp just leave them out. You can make it hotter with more red pepper or if you don't want any heat then don't ad any.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pkg. (14 oz.) Turkey Smoked Sausage, sliced

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) condensed chicken broth

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen okra, thawed, sliced

1 small bay leaf

1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

red pepper to taste

1/2 lb. cleaned medium shrimp

6 cups hot cooked rice

MELT butter in large pot on medium-high heat. Stir in flour. Cook 4 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add green pepper, onion, celery and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

ADD turkey sausage, chicken, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf and thyme; stir until well blended. Season with salt and black pepper and red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

STIR in shrimp and okra; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque, stirring frequently. Remove and discard bay leaf. Spoon over hot rice.