Gumbolicious Andouille and Chicken Stew

Before you do anything, you have to season the chicken tenders by sprinkling them with garlic power, salt, and red pepper (or Tony's) and letting them sit on the counter for about 45 minutes. Use more pepper if you like it spicy, less if you don't. While your chicken is chillin', cut up your holy trinity (peppers, celery, and onions).

Now, put the Dutch oven on your stove, pour in the oil, and warm to medium-high (if your oven has legs, obviously you'll need to adjust the temp higher). As the oil heats, dredge your tenders in the flour, coating them well (you can alternately dip in egg before the flour to make the chicken crispier). Brown the chicken tenders in the oil until they're no longer pink in the middle and set them aside on a paper towel to cool.

Now, there's tough part: dump a cup of the flour into the oil, lower heat to medium, and continuously stir this mess with your whisk. This moment of gumbo-making is crucial. What you're making is the roux, and you must keep stirring this stuff so that the flour does not burn. If the flour burns, you'll have to start all over. The reason this part is tough is because it takes about 10-15 minutes before the roux is ready. It should be a nutty brown color, like coffee with cream. If your roux is super dark or like black coffee, you've ruined it. Do-over. When it's about ready the roux will start smoking and you'll smell a nutty flavor.

Once the roux is in this state, remove the Dutch over from heat immediately and dump in the holy trinity and stir continuously until the veggies are soft. This process keeps the roux from burning. As you're stirring, season with Tony's a teensy bit, but not too much because you'll run the risk of making the gumbo too salty.

Once the veggies are soft, add your garlic and the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil. As you're waiting, cut your tenders into bite-sized chunks and slice your sausage into thin rings. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and add the chicken and sausage to the gumbo. Cook for 45-minutes to an hour, taste and season as needed, and add a dash or two of hot sauce. Serve over hot, white rice.

Yum, y'all!