The Winner and a Lost Recipe

Thanks to everyone for playing along for the CSN  giveaway.  

As chosen by the random number generator the winner is...

That would be Faith J.  I'll contact you soon, so I can get your gift code to you.  Congrats!

I spent the better part of this afternoon deleting millions of pictures (all of the same cupcake) off my computer, and came across this gumbo I made last fall from "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea".  

The author calls it "I got work to do gumbo", cause there's not a lot of standing around fussing with it.  Once you get it all in the pot, you're pretty much home free.  As I recall, I liked it, but most of the family didn't really go for it.  Probably the okra.  But if you're one of those people still stuck in freezing temps, this would be a great soup to warm the bones with.  

2 pounds okra, sliced into ¼ in rounds

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (14.5oz) can peeled whole tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

3 cups diced cooked chicken

6 oz. tasso or smoked ham, diced (I think I used ham)

1 quart chicken stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 cups cooked white rice

Preheat the oven to 250.  Combine the okra, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste in a large roasting pan. Cover with foil and bake for one hour or until tender.

Remove the foil and add the chicken, tasso, and broth.  Return to the oven uncovered and bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until desired thickness.  Season with Salt & Pepper .

Ladle the gumbo into bowls and spoon a little rice into the center of each bowl.

Be on the lookout for another giveaway early next week, that will mostly be of interest to people in the eastern part of the country.