A few of you have requested my Turkey Gumbo recipe, and I'm happy to share, the only problem is that I really don't have a real recipe. Gumbo is one of those
a little of this and
a handful of that kind of things. I firmly believe that if you ask 100 different people how they make their gumbo, you'll get a 100 different answers. But since y'all asked so nicely, I'm going to give it a shot.
A few notes before we get started:
~ Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is actually my favorite, so if you don't have any turkey available, by all means use chicken. I like to boil and debone my chicken, reserving the stock, before I get started. To make my Turkey Gumbo, I just used a few handfuls of leftover turkey and some canned stock.
~ The most important part of making a gumbo is the roux. You can find plenty of instructions online on how to make a roux, or you can just buy some of this fabulous stuff....
Premade roux is one of the world's best inventions if ya ask me. Don't think you're being less authentic if you use this stuff, every Louisiana cook I know keeps a jar of roux within their reach. It's the real deal, you just don't have to spend an hour making it yourself!
~ You need a large heavy bottom stock pot. If you use a thin pot, your roux will stick and scorch, and that would be bad.
Okay let's get started....
Ingredients:
turkey or chicken, cooked and shredded
1 lb smoked sausage, cut up
chicken stock
roux
bacon grease
onion, chopped
bell pepper, chopped
celery, chopped
greeen onions, chopped
parsley, chopped
garlic, chopped
Method:
Add about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease to stock pot, throw in all the chopped vegetables and saute until tender. Add smoked sausage and allow to cook a few minutes to get a nice color on the sausage. You may have to add a little water to keep from scorching the bottom of the pot. Next, add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of roux and mix well. Add stock while stirring to incorporate the roux. More stock, water or roux can be added as gumbo cooks to achieve desired consistancy. Add turkey, salt, pepper and
Tony's and allow to cook for about 45 minutes. Be sure to stir often, add more liquid as needed and add more seasoning if desired. Serve over rice with Saltine crackers. DEELISH!
The longer a gumbo sits, the better it tastes. In my opinion, it'a always better the next day! It also freezes very well.
The kind folks at Tony Chacher's and Savoie's have no idea who I am and have not paid me a single cent for giving them some pub. I just love their products and think they're worth sharing.
I know my gumbo instructions are kind of confusing, so if you have any questions just ask! :-)
~The Gridiron Girl
I promise I'm working on some new stuff, but until I have time to get it posted, you can enjoy looking at a couple of new pics of my adorable little Sugarplums. :-)
A few of you have requested my Turkey Gumbo recipe, and I'm happy to share, the only problem is that I really don't have a real recipe. Gumbo is one of those a little of this and a handful of that kind of things. I firmly believe that if you ask 100 different people how they make their gumbo, you'll get a 100 different answers. But since y'all asked so nicely, I'm going to give it a shot.
* If you haven't discovered Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning yet, please order you a case right this very minute! I promise you won't be sorry.
Finally, I have a little time to sit down and catch my breath. I hope you all had a Happy Turkey Day! Our Thanksgiving was wonderful, full of family, fun and way too much fabulous food. I am actually tired of eating. I may not cook for a week! Coach is on the road recruiting and I think the kids can survive on cereal and pudding cups.
Actually, as good as not cooking for a week sounds, it's too late. I have a big pot of bean soup on the stove right now. I couldn't help it! We had a big beautiful ham bone left over from Thanksgiving and it's really cold outside today. You just can't ignore some things, it had to be done!
Speaking of leftovers, I have to rave about my fried turkey gumbo! On Thanksgiving day, Coach fried up a turkey to perfection and we ate it until we had our fill. Then, Big Daddy pulled all the remaining meat off the bone for me, on Saturday I made a fried turkey and smoked sausage gumbo that was out of this world! We normally serve gumbo over rice, but I tried it over some leftover cornbread dressing and it was yummy. I think we just started a new tradition. Fried turkey gumbo and day full of football is a winner in our book!
I couldn't wait another 2 days to start feasting, so I broke down and baked
Nevermind that we live in Texas and it's been in the 70s lately, my little Knucklehead needed a snowman for school. So like any Super Mom would do, I made it happen and quick! With a sheet of styrofoam, some scraps of felt, a few buttons, a little pumpkin carving saw and my trusty glue gun, we whipped out a pretty rockin' snowman in no time flat.
I'm not dead, just extremely busy. All of the sudden I'm swamped with photo sessions. That's a good thing for my business, a bad thing for my blog. I promise to be back soon with some fun new stuff. Until then, check out these cute little nuggets I've been spending my time with....
I finally got around to making a pie with my 
I've already made a few bows to match some Christmas outfits and I have so many other fun ideas. I used some of my Nanny's (grandmother) antique buttons to adorn some of the bows and I just love how they've turned out. Now I'm off to the store to load up on more ribbon!
CAN I GET A
I can't believe it's November already! It seems like this year has absolutely flown by. We closed out the football season with a big win last Saturday and Coach is already on the road recruiting. We were disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs this year, but we had a young team that was plagued with injuries, illness and some bad decisions. It's frustrating that these young players don't yet understand that their actions not only affect them, but greatly impact my family as well. Sometimes I just want to shake them and tell them to grow up, but I guess that's what they're in the process of doing. It's just hard to stand by and watch sometimes.
While we were exploring some trails yesterday, we came across all kinds of scarecrows in the woods. Different schools and businesses had decorated them and placed them along the trail. It was neat until the sun started to go down, then we realized we were the only ones still at the Arboretum and we had walked a long way from the car. The Scarecrow Trail started to seem kind of dark and eerie! We decided it was time to get out of there and we all took off running! Once out of the woods, we discoved the sun setting on all the beautiful flowers and there were butterflies everywhere! It was so cool.
The Arboretum is such a treasure in our little town. It's very well kept by a handful of volunteers and there's always something new to discover. It's a peaceful place for a relaxing afternoon with the family and a beautiful setting for weddings and festivals. They also host a fabulous Eco Camp for kids every Summer and it's one of my favorite places to take clients for photo sessions. It's one of the things I really love about our little town.
