Mr. Murray loves gumbo. Mr. Murray loves grits. Mr. Murray loves his gluten-free wife. However this wife didn't know how to make gumbo gluten-free.  It is so easy! And it turned out great! This is a mild variation.

Ingredients

4 TBSP butter or 1/4 cup-ish oil

1 gluten-free sausage (Jimmy Dean's All Natural)

1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (gf bisquick)

1 large onion (chopped)

1 red bell pepper (chopped)

1 green bell pepper (chopped)

3 celery stalks (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (smashed)

3 cups chicken broth (Pacific)

3 large tomatoes (quartered)

2 cups thinly sliced okra

fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

2 tsp Cajun spice (Louisiana)* you can switch this to salt

2 tsp whole black peppercorn (optional)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 lb raw shrimp

Grits Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

1 cup grits

Directions

Heat large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides.  With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage onto plate.

Add butter (oil) to grease (equaling about 1/4 a cup).  Whisk in flour.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 18-20 minutes, or until dark reddish-brown.

Stir in onion, bell peppers, celery stalks & garlic.  Saute over medium heat until softened (about 6-8 minutes).  Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, okra & spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low (simmer), covered for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile: the grits!

In a large pot or sauce pan add the chicken broth and milk.  Bring to a boil on high heat.  Once it is a rolling boil, whisk in grits until well combined.  Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 -4 minutes.  * You may want to add more liquid in after about 10 minutes, depending on your consistency.

Back to the Gumbo:

Add shrimp into gumbo. (you can do this at 25 mintues) Once it has almost fully pinkened, stir in sausage. Cook for 4 more minutes (this is when I tell Mr. Murray, dinner is ready). Remove bay leaves.  Serve gumbo over grits. Enjoy!