Gumbo a la Disney

Like most parents of four year old girls, I went out last week and picked up a copy of Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" for our little princess. I've lost count of how many times we've actually seen it since then, along with how many times we've read the book before bed. These repeat viewings and readings caused my daughter to suddenly become obsessed with the idea of making gumbo. It's all she's talked about in recent days and one night, unbeknownst to me, Clean Fresh Hubby told her we would make gumbo for dinner. So the next morning, she was on fire talking about gumbo, gumbo, gumbo and how daddy told her we'd make it.

Thank heavens for the Whole Foods recipe app on my iPhone! I did a quick search for "gumbo" and found a recipe for a vegetarian version. Off to Trader Joe's to pick up the necessary ingredients and we were set to make our own version of "The Princess and the Frog" Gumbo.

Here's the recipe I used as my starting point, with a few of our additions included:

Quick Vegetarian Gumbo

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 (16-ounce) package frozen bell pepper strips (I did not include these... personal preference)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 to 1 tablespoon blackened cajun spice
1/2 pound vegetarian sausage links, Cajun or spicy variety, cut into 1-inch slices
3/4 cup rice (white or quick-cooking brown)
1 box (1 qt) creamy tomato soup
8 ounces frozen cut okra
Hot sauce to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot until warm. Add garlic and sauté briefly. Stir in peppers (if using). Cook another 4 minutes then add tomatoes, tomato soup, beans, seasoning and sausage. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add okra and simmer another 10 minutes or until rice is cooked. Serve with hot sauce on the side.



This turned out really good, though quite a bit spicier than I expected. When making it again, I would use less of the cajon seasoning (I used 1/2 T for this batch; would cut it to 1 tsp). I also used the Morningstar Hot and Zesty Sausage, so I would substitute plain Morningstar Sausage. The original recipe did not call for the box of soup, but it was very thick and my daughter wanted it to look "more like the movie gumbo," so thankfully, I had a box of soup on hand. I think the extra liquid helped the rice cook up and I liked the consistency the soup added. The biscuits are Alexia brand... this company makes some of the best frozen baked goods I've ever had and the biscuits were no exception! While not exactly "healthy," they are made with all natural ingredients and no trans fats, so not as bad as the ones you buy in the tube.

If you have a little princess in your house, this is a fun and easy recipe to make together (just go easy on the spice or your princess could be like mine and get upset that it is too spicy, refuse to eat it, and instead opt for a bowl of plain tomato soup!).