Southern Style Chicken Perlo With Andouille Sausage - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (3 pound) whole chicken
6 cups water, or as needed to cover
1 small onion, halved
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups Swanson(R) Chicken Broth
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped (optional)

Preparation

Place chicken in a large pot. Add water to cover, onion, bay leaf, thyme sprig, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until chicken is tender, about 50 minutes.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board or platter and let cool completely. Remove bones, fat, and skin from chicken. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add sausage pieces; brown on all sides. Add rice and paprika to the pot; stir over medium heat until rice is coated with oil and browned bits are stirred from the bottom. Add Swanson(R) Chicken Broth and browned sausage pieces.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and cook until rice has absorbed the broth, about 30 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
Stir the chicken pieces into the rice. Top with chopped hard-cooked egg just before serving.