Spicy Cajun Gumbo

Note from Cheri: Spicy Cajun Gumbo is a complete one-pot meal. Soup's On co-author Gail Hobbs combines chicken with hot Louisiana sausage and shrimp in her crock pot version of this creole soup.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken cut into strips 3 cups chicken stock 2 cups diced canned tomatoes 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning blend (recipes follows) 1 medium onion, chopped 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced 1/2 each red & green bell peppers, chopped 1 cup corn 2 tsp. minced or pressed garlic 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound Louisiana Hot Sausage (or sausage of your choice) 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and cleaned salt & pepper to taste 6 cups hot cooked rice filé to taste Cajun Seasoning Blend (combine all ingredients and store at room temperature) 1/4 cup salt 1 T cayenne pepper 1 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 T dried parsley

Serves 12 Place chicken, 2 cups stock, tomatoes Worcestershire sauce, and Cajun Seasoning Blend in a crockpot on high heat. In a medium skillet, sauté onion, carrots, bell peppers corn and garlic in olive oil for about 10 minutes or until softened. Add to crockpot. In same skillet, brown sausage on all sides over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook through (about 10 minutes). Slice sausage into 1 inch pieces and add to crockpot. Pour out all but about 2 tablespoons of the sausage fat. Add flour to fat and stir constantly over medium-high heat to create a dark roux. Slowly add remaining 1 cup of broth to roux and stir until smooth. Mix roux into crockpot, lower heat, cover and cook for 6-8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the shrimp. Season to taste with salt, pepper and filé. Serve over rice. If You Don't Have A Crockpot Substitute a large stock pot for crock pot. Instead of cooking for 6-8 hours, simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours on low heat in stock pot.