Neeley's Dirty Rice with Smoked Sausage

We love this dish and it works great as a side dish or a full meal. One thing that we do is add cheese to the top because we are cheese heads in our house. It makes a lot so be prepared to have left overs.

Ingredients:

2 cups Long Grain Rice (white is traditionally called for but we have had whole grain and it is equally great)
5 cups Chicken Stock, divided
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 lb Smoked Pork Sausage, sliced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 lrg Onion, chopped
1 stalk Celery, chopped
1 med Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 tbsp Cayenne (if you are sensitive to heat start with less and work your way up to this amount, you can always add but it is not so easy to take out)
1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded Cheese for topping (optional)

Make the rice in a medium saucepan combine the rice and chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until all the stock is absorbed into the rice (approximately 20 min).
Meanwhile heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, once browned add garlic, onion, celery, and green pepper. Cook until softened and add salt and pepper. Add 1 cup chicken stock and cayenne and cook till stock reduces by 1/2. Add cooked rice and parsley and stir thoroughly.
As I said above we top with shredded cheese when we serve.