Turkey Gumbo… Jambalaya?!

by Jennie on November 30, 2010

We have another episode of “What did Jennie really make for dinner”??!!! Last week I talked about wanting to use my leftover turkey to make a gumbo and it turned out more like a soup- still yummy so not a huge deal! Well, we brought the turkey for our “second thanksgiving” also and so I had a TON of leftovers again and thought…. let’s try it again! This time I actually wanted to follow a recipe so I found a gumbo from Emeril and thought I would go off of that. However, I started thinking wouldn’t it be yummy to add some shrimp and rice to the recipe and kick it up a notch (I know what you are thinking- that sounds more like a jambalaya NOT a gumbo)! Let me just admit right now that I have no idea what a gumbo is suppose to be vs. a jambalaya vs. a soup so call it what you will! It was soooo yummy and MUCH thicker than my turkey soup so I was satisfied with the finished product!

  • I followed Emeril’s recipe for the broth (don’t forget to freezer your leftover broth! it stays good for two months)
  • I added all the veggies and seasonings from his recipe, but also added carrots and mushrooms
  • I added the turkey meat, of course, and mild sausage, but I also added shrimp.
  • I added a bunch of my crock pot brown rice directly to the stew (you could certainly serve on the side, but it helped to thicken my “soup”)
  • O.k. so the last thing I tried to do was the roux and that was a whole other task! After 25 minutes of constant stirring it NEVER turned the dark brown and I ended up just pitching it. I would love your tips on making a good roux, but to be honest, I will probably just buy it the next time (my dad told me I could buy it from the store AFTER I had done all the work! lol) After adding the rice and then allowing everything to boil for 4o minutes, it thickened beautifully and it was wonderful!

I am so excited to be able to experiment a little with my cooking and work off the recipe while adding my own little twist. Although it has been a major learning experience, it has been pretty fun! Add a few glasses of wine while your cooking and I think it is pretty close to AWESOME! Even better, the recipe made 7 meals which I put in my ziplocs and put in the freezer. At this point I think I can eat off all my homemade freezer meals for the next two months without having to cook a thing! Pretty sweet :)

What do you do with your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving?

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Amanda December 2, 2010 at 8:08 am

GUMBO JUMO – Anything that has that in it's name I can't eat since our infamous trip to Florida. I think that is the last one your mom took me on if memory serves me right!! :)

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jennieandkim December 2, 2010 at 9:29 am

HILARIOUS! Although you were up all night with your head in the toilet, I was in bed sleeping :) I am such a great friend!! lol

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