M-UncMt* Farmlno, Saturday, Saptambar 23, 1995 Never-Ending Possibilities With Rice Rice is the staple food for two thirds of the world’s population. This simple grain has been a popu lar life-sustaining food for thou sands of years because it is nutri tious, versatile, economical, easy to prepare, and tastes good. Rice is a complex carbohydrate that we need to fuel the body. Complex carbohydrates are stored in muscles and released as energy as needed. Nutritionists recom mend that more than half the calo ries we consume should come from complex carbohydrates. Rice protein, when compared to that of other grains, is considered one of the highest quality proteins. It has all eight of the essential ami no acids, necessary building blocks for building strong mus cles. Rice is also a good source of other essential nutrients thia min, riboflavin, niacin, phosphor us, iron, and potassium. Rice is healthful for what it does not con tain as well. It has no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. It is non-allergenic and gluten free. Both brown and white rices are nutritious. While brown rice pro vides slightly more fiber, Vitamin E, phosphorus and calcium than white rice, most white rice sold is enriched. Rice offers versatility unsur passed by any other food. It can be made a part of any meal in recipes for soups, salads, main dishes, and desserts. It is an easily prepared, economical base for gourmet recipes and quick and easy home cooking alike. It can be an excel lent complement to entrees, or a main ingredient in many ethnic dishes. It’s no wonder rice is the world’s favorite grain. QUICK AND EASY RICE PUDDING 1 large box vanilla instant pudding 3 cups cold milk A teaspoon nutmeg '/j.cup uncooked rice (approxi mately 2 cups cooked) I cup raisins Cook rice until tender, drain and rinse. Soak raisins in warm water to soften while rice is cooking. Drain. Pour 3 cups cold milk into 3 quart container. Add one package instant pudding, mix until thick ened. Add rice, raisins, and nut meg to pudding mixture and stir together. Serve cold. Laura Bean Hollywood, Md. Recipe Topics If you have recipes for the topics listed below, please share them with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask that you include accurate measurements, a complete list of ingre dients and clear instructions with each recipe you submit. Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming, P.O. Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522. Recipes should reach our office one week before publishing date. September 30- October 7- National Pork Month 14- Ground Beef 21- Pasta Favorites EASY BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS 1 pound lean ground beef 4 medium green, red or yellow bell peppers 'A cup chopped onion A cup uncooked rice 3 tablespoons catsup, divided 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, divided 'A teaspoon salt 'A teaspoon pepper M'/i -ounce can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained Cut tops off bell peppers; remove seeds and membrane. Combine ground beef, onion, rice, 2 tablespoons catsup, 'A teaspoon oregano, salt and pepper, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Spoon an equal amount of meat mixture into each bell pepper. Place in BxB-inch baking dish. Combine tomatoes, remaining catsup and remaining oregano; pour over stuffed pep pers. Cover baking dish tightly with foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for I'A hours. 4 servings. RICE BRAN BUTTERMILK PANCAKES 1 cup rice flour or all-purpose ’/< cup rice bran 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 'A teaspoon baking soda I'A cups low-fat buttermilk 3 egg whites, beaten Vegetable cooking spray Fresh fruit or reduced-calorie syrup (optional) Sift together flour, bran, sugar, baking powder and baking soda into large bowl. Combine butter milk and egg whites in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Pour 'A cup batter onto hot griddle coated with cooking spray. Cook over medium heat until bub bles form on top and underside is lightly browned. Turn to brown other side. Serve with fresh fruit or syrup. Makes about 10 4-inch pancakes. Variation; For cinnamon pan cakes, add 1 teaspoon ground cin namon to dry ingredients. Each pancake provides 100 calories, 3.8 grams protein, 1.8 grams fat, 18.7 grams carbohydrate, 1.7 grams dietary Tiber, 1 milligram choles terol and 102 milligrams sodium. USA Rice Council Chicken Month Add a contemporary look to Easy Beef Stuffed Peppers by using a combine yellow and green bell peppers. COUNTRY CAPTAIN 3-4 pound young chicken '/i cup flour 'A teaspoon salt '/«teaspoon pepper I'A teaspoon Accent 'A cup shortening 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 A cups finely chopped green pepper 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon salt 'A teaspoon white pepper 2 teaspoons curry powder 4‘A cups canned tomatoes 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 'A teaspoon powdered thyme 1 cup blanched or toasted almonds 2 cups hot cooked rice '/« cup currants Parsley for garnish Cut chicken into frying-sized pieces. Remove skin. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and Accent Roll chicken in flour mixture, coating evenly. Brown on all sides in hot shortening. Remove from skillet; put chicken in a warm place. Into the drippings put onion, green peppers and garlic. Cook very slowly, stirring constantly until vegetables are tender. Add salt, pepper, and curry powder toward the end of this step. Add tomatoes, parsley and thyme. Put warm chicken pieces in roaster, pour tomato mixture. If it does not cover chicken, add a little water to skillet and rinse it out over the chicken. Cover and bake at 350 degree? for 45 mintues or until tender. To serve, put chicken in center of large heated platter, pile rice around it. Drop currants, into hot sauce to plump them; pour over Featured Recipe Lancaster County Poultry Ambassador Deb Landis loves to cook. She prefers adding a gourmet touch and serving dinner with an artistic flair. To leant more about this recently selected poultry ambassador, who has no former affiliation with the poultry industry, refer to the article and picture on page Al. Here is one of her favorite recipes that uses both eggs and chicken — a delicious promotion for the poultry industry. BAKED CHICKEN BREASTS GRUYERE AND MUSHROOMS 2-3 chicken breasts, boned and skinned 4 eggs, well-beaten 'A teaspoon salt 1 cup fine bread crumbs 8 tablespoons butter 'A pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded I cup chicken stock Juice of 1 lemon Cut breasts in strips. Marinate in egg and salt mixture for one hour. Roll chicken in bread crumbs to coat. Brown lightly in butter in pan. Transfer to VA -quart casserole. Slice mushrooms over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over mushrooms. Pour chicken stock over all. Bake at 3SO degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through. Pour fresh lemon juice over casserole just before serving. chicken. Scatter almonds on top. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yields 6 servings. Louise Graybeal Renick, W.V. (Turn to Pago B 7) m of red,