Cajun Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Smoked sausage and tender bites of chicken are simmered in a salty, spicy, gravy-like broth to make this classic Cajun dish. When I was very young, probably around 11-12 years old, my family visited with some friends from New Orleans. I remember tasting gumbo for the first time and loving it. My friend Michelle served it with a scoop of rice underneath and a scoop of potato salad on top. (Stay with me here, the combination truly works!)

A few months ago, I started thinking about that gumbo and wondering why I'd never tried making it on my own. I tracked down my friend Michelle on Facebook and she was kind enough to write out her recipe for me. I've played with it a bit, but the base is mostly the same. I was very happy to see that her recipe includes a dry roux. I'm still intimidated by a traditional dark roux and this was as easy as could be with little danger of burning as it browned! This is a basic meat-lover's gumbo recipe and my boys all LOVED it.

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