Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo

This takes a little extra work but makes a ton of gumbo for weekday leftovers!

Ingredients: 
2 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic
1 cup onion
1 cup celery
1 lb okra, chopped (I use frozen but I'm sure fresh is good!)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 lb cubed chicken breast
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade)
1 (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
pinch around black pepper
1 lb andouille sausage cut into bite sized pieces (I use chicken andouille from Costco)
1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Chop garlic, onion, celery in a food processor. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, onion, and celery and stir in okra. Stir occasionally until fragrant. Set aside.


2. In a large dutch oven, over medium-high heat, combine 1/4 cup of butter and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes chocolate brown.

Stir in the chicken breasts. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Cook, until the chicken breasts are seared. Add the vegetable mixture and stir in chicken stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.



3. Add shrimp and andouille sausage. Stir in hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer an additional 10 minutes. Serve - I've always eaten this over rice!

Spanish chicken and rice

One pot meals are the best - especially, when they are flavorful and chicken and rice are involved! Adapted from https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/one-pan-spanish-chicken-rice/ check out this rendition of latin/spanish chicken and rice:

Ingredients 
4 chicken thighs (bone-in)
dash of olive oil
1 cup uncooked rice (I use jasmine)
2 1/4 cups chicken stock preferably homemade
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup chopped red and yellow peppers
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Spice mixture
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
dash of crushed red pepper
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients to the spice mixture. Place chicken in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and 1/2 of spice mixture. Set aside. In a dutch oven, add olive oil and bring to medium heat. Sear chicken and transfer to plate. Add rice and remaining seasoning. Stir for a minute until fragrant. Add peppers and stir for 2 minutes. Then add chicken stock and juice from 1/2 lemon. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to a pan and cook for 20-25 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cook for an additional 15 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.