Recipe: Chicken Gumbo Soup

I made this soup a few days ago when Graham left for Germany, but I thought I'd wait and share it today in honor of Mardi Gras.

Every time Graham leaves for a trip, I make soup. Why? It's simple. I like making soup. It comforts me. And I'm one of those weirdos who will happily sit down with a bowl of soup & a grilled cheese when it's a hundred degrees outside. I also hate doing dishes... so this way, I only have one pot to wash, and can just throw the bowl & spoon in the dishwasher every night.

Lucky for me, I don't mind eating leftovers. Because the soups I make always make a ton.

This one was no exception. My 5.5 quart dutch oven was filled nearly to the brim. Luckily the soup was delicious. The only change I'll make for the next time is adding half the rice. Like the orzo in the Italian Wedding Soup, the rice kept sucking up the liquid and the next day it was more of a stew.

After looking at about a 1,000 gumbo & gumbo soup recipes, I've decided that going to the World Championship Gumbo Cook-off in Louisiana is now on my bucket list. There are so many different ways that people make gumbo, and I'm dying to try them all.

Anyways. Regardless of liquid sucking grains, this was delicious. I'm glad... because I'm having leftovers again tonight =)

Chicken Gumbo Soup
(Recipe Inspired by this one.)

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 yellow onion; finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper; seeds & membranes removed and finely chopped
• 5 celery stalks; thinly sliced in half moons
• 2 C. of chopped okra (frozen or fresh)
• 2 cloves of garlic; mined
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes 
• 1 T. of tomato paste
• 2 T. of creole seasoning
• 2 T. of Tabasco (or any other hot sauce)
• 1/4 C. of all purpose flour
• olive oil
• 2 quarts of chicken stock (8 cups)
• 1 C. of rice (I'm only going to use 1/2 C. next time)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. 
2. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. 
3. Whisk in the chicken stock slowly, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the seasonings, the hot sauce, the chicken and the rice. Raise the heat and bring the soup to a boil. The reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. 
4. You can either cook the chicken in the soup, or cook it separately and add it at the end. I let mine cook with the soup, but I know some people feel weird about that.