1 (8 oz.) box wild rice
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 (16 oz.) bag carrots
1 lg. onion
4 rock cornish hens
Salad oil
4 lg. celery stalks
1 (8 oz.) pkg. mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow casserole dish, mix rice, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1 3/4 cups water; cover and bake 40 minutes. Remove giblets and necks from rock cornish hens, save for another day. Cut each hen in half. Rinse hens with cold running water; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle hens with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.

In 12 inch skillet over medium heat, in 2 tablespoons hot salad oil, cook hen halves, a few at a time, until golden brown on all sides, removing them to plate as they brown. Meanwhile, cut carrots and celery into 1 inch diagonal slices. Cut onion into wedges. Cut mushrooms in half if they are large.

In same skillet over high heat, in 1 tablespoon hot oil, cook vegetables with 1/2 teaspoon salt until tender-crisp. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables to plate.

Add 1/2 cup water to skillet; over high heat, heat to boiling, stirring to loosen brown bits from bottom of skillet. Boil about 2 minutes until liquid is reduced by half. Arrange hen halves over rice in casserole; top with vegetables. Pour liquid from skillet over vegetables. Cover and bake 1 hour or until hen halves and rice are tender. Makes 8 main dish servings. 595 calories per servings.