Learn, Laugh, Cook – A Cookbook

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Wait?  What?  Isn’t this a travel blog?  Why are you reviewing a cookbook you might ask?

This cookbook is the product of months of hard work by my good friend Mandy.  You might remember Mandy from her guest post a little while ago where she talked about her love of Visitor Centers.  She also wrote a guest post for my Pensacola with Kids blog where she shared her experience on the Pensacola Trolley Tours. 

Mandy’s cookbook is a fabulous collection of recipes, poems, and stories.  The reason I am sharing this cookbook with you today is because when I get home from a trip I love to try to recreate meals that we had while traveling.  Sometimes we even take cooking classes on our travels.  Our first cooking class was in New Orleans, Louisiana.

We LOVE New Orleans.  We honeymooned in New Orleans, we take a trip there every year or so as a couple, and we love to travel there with our kids.  I love the food in New Orleans…beignets, crawfish etouffee, and gumbo.  Gumbo is one of those things that I have not attempted at home yet.  It just seems too difficult.  As a matter of fact, we haven’t tried to replicate any NOLA foods at home. 

Enter Mandy’s recently released cookbook.  She has a gumbo recipe. 

And it is easy!!  Well, according to her it is.  I haven’t tried to make it yet but it is on our meal plan for next week.  Mandy shared her recipe for her “Big Easy” Chicken and Sausage Gumbo on her blog, Learn, Laugh, Cook, and has given me permission to share it here. 

You can purchase Mandy’s cookbook, Learn, Laugh, Cook, for $15.95.  I have made several of the recipes in the cookbook as well as have tasted many more and they are tasty.  You can read more by Mandy on her blog where she posts different recipes she has tried, links to ideas and recipes, as well as funny poems!  You can also connect with her on Facebook.   Make sure you stop by her blog soon because she told me she will be posting a New Orleans style Shrimp and Grits recipe within the next two weeks.

If you try this gumbo recipe, be sure to let Mandy know!

Mandy’s “Big Easy” Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
1 pound (14 oz or two links) of precooked turkey sausage, chopped into small pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of Instant Roux
3 cups of cool water
3 cups of chicken broth
1 can (10 oz) of tomato soup
1 can (10 oz) of diced tomatoes and green chilies (such as Rotel)
1/2 tbsp crushed bay leaves
1/2 tbsp thyme
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (salt mixture)

(Cook’s Note: For this recipe, you will need a large stove pot and a slow cooker.)

Generously grease a large pot with cooking spray.  Throw in your chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic.  Sautee on medium high for about seven minutes or until veggies are soft and lightly browned.  Add in two cups of cool water and 1 cup of the instant roux mix.  Stir swiftly with a wooden spoon or whisk making sure all of the “roux” is dissolved and no longer lumpy.  Continue cooking on medium high for about fifteen minutes until the roux thickens, darkens and blends with the veggies.  Don’t be afraid if it looks really dark, like this:

It looks like a scary dark color here but it will lighten up in color once you add the tomatoes, broth and other seasonings.  Don’t worry!  Continue stirring it on occasion throughout that fifteen minutes, adding water if you need to so it doesn’t stick to the pot.

While your roux is cooking and you’re not stirring, chop up your chicken and sausage into small pieces.  Then place them into the bottom of a slow cooker.  Sprinkle your Cajun seasoning over the chicken and sausage pieces.  Once your roux has simmered for its course, add it to the slow cooker, on top of the meat. 

Pour in your chicken broth and additional 1 cup of water.  Add the tomato soup, diced tomatoes with chilies, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, garlic and onion powders.  Mix well.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  (Yesterday I cooked mine on high for two hours and low for two hours and it came out great!)

Check the consistency in case you need to thicken or liquify it more.  Taste it to see if has enough seasoning or spices for your family.  My husband called this recipe “very flavorful and full of spices without being too spicey.”  I call that a perfect blend! 

Serve hot over cooked rice in bowls.  Freeze any leftovers in heavy plastic containers for up to four months.  For best results, reheat on stove in a large pot, adding water if needed. 

(Cook’s Note: A gumbo is a great mix of whatever you want to throw in it.  You start with that “roux” and then start placing different things in it.  I didn’t have any seafood in my freezer so I went with chicken and sausage.  Try mixing it up and blending different flavors in your gumbo.  Let me know how it turns out! )

Be sure to visit Wanderfood Wednesday over at Wanderlust and Lipstick!

**Disclosure:  Mandy is one of my good friends.  As she was writing the book, I cheered her on whenever I could.  I tasted many recipes throughout the writing of the book.  I am purchasing several copies with my own money to give as Christmas gifts.**