January 21: Chicken with White and Wild Rice Soup

1 5.5- to 7-ounce package white and wild rice blend, such as Near East brand, either chicken or herb flavor
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon dried dill, chopped
   Juice of 1 lemon
   Hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaf, and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, bring up to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

Add the parsley, dill, the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste. Remove the bay leaf.

Divide the cooked white and wild rice among 4 serving bowls; ladle the soup over the rice, making sure to distribute the chicken and veggies evenly among the bowls.

4 SERVINGS

The first thing about this recipe is that I got it from July 1st (# 182). I remember a song from when I was little that starts "In January it's so nice to eat your chicken soup with rice." And it is. It's not so nice in July. I'd much rather eat Citrus Marinated Chicken and Orange Salad on July 1st. So I swapped them. I made sure to get a light recipe, because we've been having a lot of, as Helen would say, "stodge" lately.

I made this recipe for lunch today, so I halved it. It was plenty for me and the girls, but we ate it all up. Except the rice. I had to make a whole package, so we'll see how that goes with the black bean stoup leftovers :) This soup made a nice hot, light lunch on a cold (very cold) day. Someone said the temperature was -16 degrees F. this morning. My husband wants "regular food" for dinner tonight (read hot dogs and macaroni and cheese), which is why I made this for lunch today :)

The changes I made are thus: I used dried thyme instead of fresh, I made it call for 1 pound of chicken instead of two. Oh my goodness. I don't think Rachael Ray ever tried this recipe with 2 pounds of chicken and only 1 quart of chicken stock. It just doesn't work. And you don't need that much meat. And I used dried dill instead of fresh.

I really like the light flavors of this soup. It's very low in fat. The dill and the lemon compliment each other and I used a dash of hot sauce just to give it the slightest kick. The rice I used was "Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Fast Cook Recipe with 25 Herbs and Spices."