Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
From Food Network Kitchens (modified to use wild rice per reviewers' suggestions)

Instead of using extra broth as the recipe does below, you could cook your chicken first in water to make your own broth. When the chicken is cooked, remove the meat and set aside (if it cooks too long it gets stringy). Put the bones back in the pot and continue to simmer for 3 to 4 hours until a rich broth develops. Strain before using.

Other good variations: saute mushrooms with the celery, leeks, and carrots; add some flour once the vegetables have been sauted so the broth is thicker, add cream or half and half to give the soup a creamier consistency.

Note: This calls for cooked wild rice. Wild rice takes a while to cook, so you should do that first.

One 3-1/2 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, washed and patted dry
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 stalks celery, trimmed, diced
2 medium leeks, light green and white part only, diced (we used carmelized onions once, which was good)
2 medium carrots, diced
10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat- leaf parsley leaves [1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh]
6 sprigs fresh thyme (perhaps rosemary) [1/2 teaspoon dried]
2 bay leaf
6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned (you shouldn't need broth because the chicken you are cooking will make its own broth; just use water to cook the chicken)
1 cup wild rice, cooked [1/3 cup wild rice will equal 1 to 1 1/3 cup cooked]
[a little half and half, to finish]

[Cook the wild rice first. It takes much longer than other types of rice. I would cook it in some chicken broth to add flavor. Add the rice and leftover broth to the soup.]

[If using some boneless chicken to make a small amount of soup, you can saute it in the butter first, take it out and set aside, then saute the celery, leeks, and carrots. Add the chicken back in at the end with the rice.]

Season the chicken with the 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the chicken, and saute until well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove meat from the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the celery, leeks, and carrots, saute for 10 minutes. [Saute mushrooms (not in recipe) along with the vegetables, if using. After the vegetable have softened, add flour which will thicken the broth, once added]

Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme and bay leaf with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot along with the chicken and broth (or water). [I just add the herbs to the soup and remove the bay leaf later.] Bring the soup to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes until the chicken is done. Don't overcook or the chicken gets stringy.

Remove the chicken and herb bundle. Skim any excess fat from the surface of the soup with a spoon or a ladle. [Taste and add more thyme if needed.] When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove the meat from the bones and cut into 1-inch chunks; add the meat to the soup along with the rice. [Add some cream or half and half if you want the broth to be creamier.] Cook until the meat and rice are heated through.

Season the soup with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Divide the soup among warm bowls and serve.

6 - 8 servings