Mom’s recipe for Spanish Rice hard to match

Dear Laura: I have been trying for years to make a good copy of my mother’s Spanish Rice recipe. I remember she would brown hamburger, green pepper and onion and then add spices, instant rice and I believe tomato juice. I even bought a cookbook by mail of instant rice recipes but it wasn’t included. Any idea where I can get a copy of this recipe? – Bev

Dear Bev: Here’s a recipe from The Spokesman-Review’s Dorothy Dean collection from October 1959. It has everything that you described that was in your mother’s recipe, except it uses tomato sauce instead of tomato juice. I made this recipe recently using canola oil in place of the original “fat” and instant rice and it turned out fine. To suit my personal preference for a little more spice, I added extra chili powder as well as some cayenne pepper.

Spanish Rice Pronto

Adapted from Dorothy Dean Homemaker series B-5, 1959

1/4 cup oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/2 medium green pepper, diced

1 1/3 cups instant rice, uncooked

1/2 pound ground beef

1 1/2 cups hot water

2 cups tomato sauce

1/2 cup sliced olives

1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional

Heat oil in skillet; add onion, green pepper, rice (dry) and meat. Stir over high heat until lightly browned. Add water, tomato sauce, olives and seasonings; mix well. Bring quickly to a boil. Cover tightly and simmer 10 minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per 1/6 recipe: 310 calories, 18 grams fat (4 grams saturated, 52 percent fat calories), 12.4 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrate, 32 milligrams cholesterol, 2.9 grams dietary fiber, 1,023 milligrams sodium.

Dear readers: I received a request for good, budget-conscious recipes that use leftover ground beef from meatloaf and hamburger patties. If you have any tasty ways to make use of the meat, send them to e-mail or address below.