Chicken & Smoked Sausage Soup

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into cubes
• 1 pound smoked sausage or turkey smoked sausage, cut into bite s
• 2 tablespoons butter oil or other vegetable oil
• 1 onion chopped finely
• 3 celery smalls ribs, chopped
• 2 carrots scrubbed well, don't peel them! and sliced thinly
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 12 cups water
• 4 chicken stock cubes I use Knorr Low Sodium
• 2 beef stock cubes also Knorr
• 1 bay leaves small large or 2
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or to taste
• black pepper Several grinds of fresh
• 1/2 cup rice par-boiled, Uncle Ben's
• 1 cup orzo or other tiny pasta
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

1. Heat the oil or butter in a large heavy bottomed pot.
2. When it is hot, add the chicken in batches and brown it on all sides, removing each batch as it browns - crowding too much in the pot will make the chicken steam instead of brown.
3. When the chicken is all browned, add the sausage, onions, celery and carrots to the pot, along with the chicken.
4. Saute for about five minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Add the sherry and let cook on high until it is reduced by half, about five minutes.
6. Add the water and stock cubes, thyme, bay leaves and all three peppers. Stir well, let come to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer about 30 minutes. Stir it every so often.
8. After 30 minutes, add the rice and stir well again. Let cook another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Add the pasta and the tomato paste and stir well to dissolve the tomato paste.
10. Let cook another 10 minutes and serve with lots of hot bread and a bottle of Crystal or Tobasco for those who like it HOT!

chicken, sausage, butter oil, onion, celery, carrots, sherry, water, chicken, beef, bay leaves, thyme, ground white pepper, ground cayenne pepper, black pepper, rice, orzo, tomato paste

Taken from www.yummly.com/recipe/Chicken-_-Smoked-Sausage-Soup-1651878 (may not work)