New Orleans Gumbo

I got this recipe from Taste of Home magazine's Heartwarming Soups December 2011 issue. I modified it a little to make it a bit healthier using brown rice and turkey kielbasa. It was delicious! It had a nice spicy smoky flavor - if you don't really like spicy food, I would suggest modifying the amount of pepper and cayenne pepper you put in.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked rice (I used brown rice)
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained. (I used 2 tomatoes, chopped)
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1/2 pound kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2" slices (I used Turkey Polska Kielbasa)
- 1 pound uncooked peeled shrimp
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup minced parsley (I used cilantro since I like it better)

Cooking Time: 30 min. prep, 30-40 min. cooking
Servings: 8

Cioppino

Cioppino is an Italian-American fish stew that originated from San Francisco. It typically has a plethora of seafood in it: crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, and fish. On a random whim to check out DC's Eastern Market after work one day, I bought 2 fresh cod fillets and shell-less clams and made this version of cioppino. My version only has fish, clams, shrimp, and crabmeat. A lot more affordable than the original version!