Turkey Gumbo

This is one of my most favorite soups, and is the perfect thing to make on a long, snowy winter weekend.
So I did.
And it was amazing.

Let's begin...

Brown rice, chicken broth, turkey, sweet sausages, celery, chopped tomatoes, white onion, salt, pepper, garlic, and okra. Because, after all, you can't make gumbo without okra.

First up, boil 2 1/2 cups of water in a small saucepan for the rice. As soon as it boils (which only takes a couple minutes), add the rice. It is going to take the longest to cook, so you need to get it started first.

Next, in your soup pot, brown the meat.
I used fresh turkey breast, and sweet sausages.

While the meat cooks, chop the veggies.
I used fresh onion and celery, so that was all I had to chop. The tomatoes were canned, so I drained them, and the okra was frozen. You can certainly use fresh okra, but honestly, why bother. The quality of the frozen stuff is real good, and it keeps you from having to deal with the slimy fresh stuff.

 Ok, so when the meat is nice and brown, remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Oh man, look at all the yummy stuff on the bottom of the pan! You know what I call that? Flavor!!!!!

And flavor, my friends, is the base of all good soups. 

You see, so many people make the mistake of just adding things to a pot of broth and calling it a day. But that isn't going to give your soup good flavor, or depth. This is.

So, let's get to it....

Add the onions, celery and okra to the pot and cook over medium heat until soft.

Add any spices you like at this point.
I used a pinch of thyme and a couple pinches of parsley.
Then add the tomatoes.

And stir until happy.

Now, slice up all the sausages and chop up all the turkey, then add to the pot.

 (Oh man, it's starting to look so good!)

Once the meat and veggies are heated up, you can add the broth.

By this time, the rice should be done. I let mine cool a bit, then I added it to the pot.

 Stir it all up, then get ready to enjoy!!

See you soon.
xoxo