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Do you like to cook or bake using recipes from a church cookbook? I often use church cookbooks, however, I'm not too happy when the recipe doesn't tell you what size pan or casserole dish to use and doesn't tell you how many it serves. For "seasonal cooks," like many of us, we can usually figure out how many a casserole dish will serve by the measured amount of ingredients, or how many pieces you can get from a cake or pan of bars by measuring the pan and doing a little arithmetic. So, go figure.

Anyway, I decided to use recipes today taken from my Elim Church cookbook. Which recipes should I choose? I'm going to use a variety of baked dishes from the "main dish" category and they all give the size pan or casserole to use.

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I'll start with a chicken recipe.

5 INGREDIENT BAKED CHICKEN

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

6 skinless chicken thighs (can leave the skin on if you wish)

1-15 oz. can whole cranberry sauce

1 package dry onion soup mix

1-8 oz. bottle Russian salad dressing or Western dressing

Put chicken pieces in a pan-sprayed 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine rest of ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well. Spoon over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, uncovered. Makes 6-8 servings.

THREE BEAN

TURKEY-BURGER BAKE

1 lb. ground turkey

1 c. diced onion

1-9 oz. package frozen baby lima beans, thawed

1-16 oz. can baked beans (your choice of brand)

1-15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained

1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 t. salt (optional)

1 t. prepared mustard

1/8 t. pepper

1/2 c. ketchup

2 T. molasses

1 T. vinegar

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, brown turkey and onion; drain. Add rest of ingredients, mixing well.

Turn into a 2 qt. casserole. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 6 servings.

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PORK AND VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

1-10 oz. package medium egg noodles, cooked according to package directions, drained

1 lb. boneless pork, cut into bite-size pieces

1 T. vegetable oil

1/2 c. sliced celery

1/4 c. diced sweet red pepper or green pepper

1/4 c. diced onion

1 can each cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

1-15 oz. can cream-style corn

1 t. salt (optional)

1/4 t. pepper

1 c. saltine cracker crumbs

3 T. butter or margarine, melted

While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet. Cook pork, celery, peppers and onion until meat is browned and veggies are almost tender.

In a large bowl, combine pork mixture, noodles, soups, corn, milk and salt and pepper; mix well.

Turn into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine cracker crumbs and butter. Sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

SAUSAGE 'N POTATO

HOT DISH

5 medium potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, sliced into 1/4-inch slices

1 large onion, diced

1-15 oz. can corn or 2 c. frozen corn

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. smoked ring sausage (beef or Polish) cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 can tomato soup

Butter or pan spray a 2 qt. casserole. Layer one half of potatoes, onion, corn, salt and pepper. Repeat layers. Add sausage slices on top. Spoon soup over sausage.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove cover last 10 minutes of baking time. Makes 6 servings.

NOTE: This dish can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Add a few minutes extra baking time. Also, you can add more potatoes and corn if you need to stretch it a bit, using a 3 qt. casserole.

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Thought for the day: The north winds doth blow, we soon shall have snow. What will the poor robins do then, poor things. I hope they've been long gone by now!

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