Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Mix ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder and ½ tsp onion powder; rub on the chicken pieces. Set the chicken pieces aside for 30 minutes.

Place ½ cup flour in a bag; add the chicken pieces and shake well to coat the chicken. Using ½ cup of oil, fry the chicken in a heavy skillet until crust is brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and drain.

In the same pan, saute the sausage until browned. Remove from the heat, drain and reserve with the chicken.

Mix ¾ cup flour and ½ cup of oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and stir to mix. Continue cooking and stirring until the roux is a dark chocolate brown. This can take 30 minutes. Do not cook on too high of a heat. If it begins to cook too fast, remove from the heat and continue to stir.

Add chopped vegetables and stir thoroughly. Mixture will be sticky. Cook for about 5 minutes. (Adding the vegetables stops the browning process.) Add the chicken stock 1 cup at a time until it is well blended. Add the 1½ hours. Serve over rice.

Makes about 8 servings.

Nutritional Information: per serving: 618 calories, 35g fat, 1,570mg sodium, 119mg cholesterol, 47% of calories from fat. ** Dallas Morning News -- Food section -- 22 Jan 97 **

Your Chicken & Sausage Gumbo is ready. Bon appetit!