These modifications and adjustments are reflected in both the ingredients and directions of the recipe.
- Used beef kielbasa.
- Cut the vegetables in roughly a uniform, bite size so that they are comfortable to spoon when eating. Take care not to make them too small.
- If they’re not too expensive and accessible, the yellow bell pepper adds a nice visual interest to the stew. (Although, the red pepper is higher in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Beta Carotene than its green/yellow varieties.)
- Added 4 red potatoes.
- Omitted any addition of salt.
- Didn’t have canned, diced tomatoes so used whole stewed tomatoes and manually diced.
- Cooked on low. Made necessary adjustment of cooking time. Cooking on low for 6 hours. After six hours, added the shrimp and okra and continued to cook for another 30 minutes.
- For ease of eating, I cut the tails off the shrimp before adding to cook in the stew.
- Like it spicy and hot? Select a kielbasa or Andouille that’s spicy to kick it up a few notches.
- If you like cayenne pepper, it wouldn’t hurt to bump it up to a very generous 1/3 teaspoon.
- There are a lot of good ingredients in here already, but if you have some sweet corn on hand, adding a 1/3-1/2 cup wouldn’t hurt. If you do decide to add the corn, add it when the shrimp and okra are included.
- Whenever possible, use the lowest and slowest cooking times when slow cooking. I’ve been more happy with the flavors and texture of the ingredients when I’ve used the lowest temperature setting and slower cooking time (personal preference).
Serves 6
Kitchen Tools: Slow Cooker
3/4 pound kielbasa or Andouille, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red onion, sliced into wedges
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 red, green or yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3-4 red potatoes, scrubbed, halved and quartered (total of 8 pieces from each potato)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (red pepper)
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined – about 12 shrimp. (Optional: Remove tails before adding to stew.)
2 cups frozen cut okra, thawed
In a 5 to 6-quart slow cooker, place the prepared sausage, onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, and potatoes in the dish. Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients and toss to evenly coat.
Add the tomatoes, water and cayenne pepper to the dish.
Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender (about 6-7 hours on low).
Add shrimp and okra, cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout (about 30 minutes -to- 1 hour on low).