Your neighbor's recipe: Here to help

Doris Rorick says she considers herself fortunate to be in the nursing profession.

"I guess I've always wanted to help people," she said. "I've always felt blessed," she added, to be able to "combine the gifts that God has given me" with the job that she does on a routine basis.

A registered nurse, she has spent 27 years at Schneck Medical Center, including several years working in home health and hospice and, for the past two years, on the post-op floor.

"We're so excited now with the new building and remodeling" at Schneck, she said, which includes all-private rooms for patients.

"The private rooms are just going to make it a better environment for them ... better for the patients, family and staff."

She said she's also glad she can be a mentor and role model for younger nurses.

"Schneck is a wonderful place to work," she said. "The fact that it's been able to attract and keep loyal staff who have worked there for years, it says a lot about it."

Of late, nursing has taken on a new dimension for Rorick.

"I was blessed to go on a mission trip to Guatemala," she said.

Her daughter Angie, a student in the nursing program at Ball State University, had become involved with the Timmy Foundation while at school.

After Rorick heard about her daughter's experiences with the foundation, she asked if she could volunteer for a trip and recently accompanied Angie on a trip to Guatemala.

The group had collected items ahead of time to put together health kits containing things such as soap and toothbrushes. All the children were given fluoride treatments.

"We went to the Highlands, areas of primarily Mayan descent. We saw over 500 people in four days," Rorick said.

In one community, there was a small clinic with a midwife who had delivered "thousands of babies" in 25 years.

"We saw predominantly women and children, because most of the men were out in the fields," Rorick said. "They do a terrace-type farming," raising vegetables, fruits and grain, using hand tools.

"This was just a whole different world," she said, but, "you learned that people are the same everywhere. The people were so happy, although they had very little in our eyes. They just had a genuine happiness to them."

Dr. Chuck Dietzen, who established the foundation, was with them on the trip, Rorick said.

"He had traveled to India and met Mother Theresa. She said sending money was fine and good, but she needed hands, she needed people to go and help."

The result was the Timmy Foundation, a registered nonprofit in Indianapolis dedicated to supporting health care and education

initiatives in developing countries. It was founded in 1997 by Dietzen, who named it in honor of his brother, Timmy, who had died at a young age. (More information is available at www.timmyfoundation.org).

In addition to Angie, Rorick and her husband, Mark, who works in construction, have another daughter, Carrie, who will graduate from the University of Indianapolis in May and plans to study physical therapy at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. They also have two sons. Ben and his wife, Darla, have a son, Brayden. Their other son, Brian, is engaged.

The Roricks live in a log cabin in the Cortland area where she grew up, the daughter of Arthur and Bertha Otte.

"I grew up here, and graduated from Seymour," she said, before going on to Indiana University for nursing.

She got her first cooking lessons at home, with her mother.

"We baked a lot and I still enjoy baking," Rorick said. "We made a lot of desserts. I also enjoy making casseroles, things that you can just put together and let them bake.

"I also did 4-H growing up, and my kids have been involved. I think it's a good program."

 Symphony Cake

Bake: 1 German chocolate cake per package directions in 9x13 cake pan

Immediately after removing from oven: With a wooden spoon handle, poke holes 1 inch apart over entire surface of cake

Immediately: Pour over top of cake - 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 jar caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping. Let cool in refrigerator at least two hours.

When cool: Frost with one 8-ounce container of whipped topping and sprinkle ½ package of crushed Heath Bar bits over top.

Store in refrigerator.

Can be made up to two to three days in advance.

Jackpot

½ package (8-ounce) rotini

1 pound ground beef

¼ cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

Dash pepper

1 can (10¾-ounce) tomato soup

½ cup water

1 can (15½-ounce) red kidney beans

1½ cups grated cheese

Cook rotini according to package directions. Sauté the ground beef and onion together. Drain off fat, add salt, chili powder and pepper. Mix well. Add soup, water, rotini, kidney beans and ½ of the cheese. Mix well. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 minutes until cheese melts Serves 6-8.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

3 cups cooked, cubed chicken

Salt, pepper and garlic powder

1 (10¼-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1½ cups sour cream

2 tablespoons chicken broth

40 round Ritz crackers

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

3 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups cooked rice

Cook chicken in water with a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder until done. Remove from water and save water to cook rice in. Chop chicken into cubes when cool. Cook rice according to package directions using saved water. Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream and broth, stir to blend. Crush crackers and mix with poppy seeds and butter. Spray 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick spray. Place cooked rice on bottom, top with chopped chicken and spread sour cream mixture over chicken. Top with poppy seed mixture. Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.