2 large white onions, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
½ cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 package Hillshire Farm Beef Sausage

Chop all vegetables, mix together (in a 1-gallon Ziploc® Storage Bag), and refrigerate. Slice sausage into medallions and store separately in the refrigerator.

One or Two Days Before Serving

2 tbsp Colavita extra virgin olive oil
Chopped vegetables from the previous day
1 cup Tony Chachere's Instant Roux Mix
2 cups cool water
Wire wisk
Slotted spoon
8 quart stockpot
2 14 oz cans Swanson® chicken broth
Additional water
Sliced sausage from the previous day
1-2 tbsp Tony Chachere's Seasoning
Large ladle

Sauté all vegetables from the previous day in olive oil until translucent (5-6 minutes). Set aside.

Prepare the base: In a mixing bowl, whisk dry roux mix into cool water, making sure that all of the mix dissolves. Pour mixture into stockpot and stir constantly over medium heat until boiling. Add chicken broth and additional water to make four quarts of liquid. Bring to a boil again, stirring constantly, and remove any lumps of roux with slotted spoon.

Add sautéed vegetables and sausage medallions. For a milder flavor, add 1 tbsp Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. (For a spicier, almost hot taste, use 2 tbsp.) Bring to a boil for a few minutes then cover and reduce heat to simmer for two hours. Stir occasionally. Cool and refrigerate overnight.

Serving Day

Stockpot of gumbo from previous day(s)
1 lb shrimp, cleaned, with tails removed
Steamed white rice

Remove gumbo from refrigerator and skim fat off the surface. Cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring with large ladle. Add shrimp and cook for 20-30 minutes longer, or until shrimp are done. Reduce heat to simmer. Serve in (deep) bowls over steamed rice, making sure to take the gumbo closest to the bottom of the stockpot. Refrigerate leftovers. Serves 20 light eaters or 5-10 Cajuns :-)

Hint: About one hour before you're ready to slice the sausage, place it in the freezer.

In case you're not familiar with gumbo, the gumbo in this recipe will be slightly thicker than dirty dishwater when it's ready. (-: Apologies to those of you from Louisiana, but that's what it looks like to me :-)

Of course, you could prepare it and serve it all on the same day. I just don't like to spend a long time in the kitchen, plus I'm told it tastes best the second time you reheat it. (Supposedly it's good on the third or fourth day, too.) And, yes, you could use frozen chopped vegetables instead. I just won't guarantee that it'll be as much of a crowd pleaser :-)

Could you put chicken in it? Probably. Try it and see. In creating this recipe, I drew upon the gumbo recipes in Pirate's Pantry, an outstanding cookbook published by the Junior League of Lake Charles, Louisiana, plus a few Williams-Sonoma soup recipes I had prepared before.

And did you notice that I used "Creole" seasoning but called it a "Cajun" gumbo. There is a difference. In fact, there are many different cuisines within Louisiana. If you're curious about the difference, you might enjoy researching these terms on the Internet.

Finally, I'm working on a vegetarian version. When I get one down, I'll let you know :-)