Fort Wayne – Clara Bailey of northern Wells County says a knife is her favorite cooking utensil.

“I have a favorite knife, but I usually lose them when we’re doing corn,” she says.

According to Bailey, 64, freezing corn is a family project. She and her husband, Kedric, have five children and 19 grandchildren. Between all of them, including her mother-in-law, they prepare about 30 quart-size bags of corn for each family.

“His mother lives next door. She likes to do corn. So she sits with a towel on her lap with a pan, hand her corn, she brings her own knife and let her go,” Bailey says.

Bailey spends her time between bus-driving duties for Northern Wells Community Schools and helping her husband with the family’s pig farm.

She and her husband also watch their grandchildren play sports.

“We watch a lot of grandkids – go to a lot of games so we catch those when we can. We go from soccer to volleyball. Now, three of the little boys play Upward basketball. We’ve got two kids playing home-schooled basketball. They’re also in Bible quizzing,” she says. “Oh, I don’t know. Other than that, it’s crazy.”

Q. What’s your favorite cookbook and how many do you think you have?

A. Year’s ago, (Kedric) got a Pioneer cookbook. And I like our church (Zanesville United Brethren Church) cookbook. I use it a lot, and I use my Betty Crocker. How many? I don’t know. I don’t have that many. I probably have three to four church cookbooks. I have lots of Taste of Home magazines.

Q. What’s your go-to meal?

A. Chicken tetrazzini. It’s quick. I usually take that to somebody for a meal. It’s fast and easy. If it’s just me and Ked, it’s hamburger. Give him a hamburger, and he’s happy, but he’ll eat everything.

Q. Who’s your cooking idol?

A. I suppose my mom. There were 11 kids. I’m the eighth. We all chipped in and helped. I remember doing dishes. You just helped out when there was that many.

Q. What one word describes your cooking style?

A. Just home-style, I guess. I like fast, easy recipes that I have ingredients for. I don’t like recipes that I have to go buy the ingredients.

Chicken Tetrazzini

7 ounces thin spaghetti

1/2 cup butter

2 cups mushrooms, drained (optional)

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (16-ounce) container sour cream

1 (16-ounce) container French onion dip

3 to 4 cups cooked chicken

Grated Parmesan cheese, as desired

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Toss spaghetti with butter. Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese; mix well. Pour into 12-by-9 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Makes 12 to 15 servings.

Party chicken

8 chicken breasts

8 slices bacon

1 (4-ounce package) chipped beef

1 (10.5-ounce) can mushroom soup

8 ounces sour cream

Wrap each chicken breast with 1 slice bacon. Cover bottom of well-greased 12-by-8-by-2 baking dish with chipped beef; arrange chicken on top. Mix soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Bake at 275 degrees for 3 hours. Makes 8 servings.

Apple Dumplings

For the crust:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup milk

8 apples

For the syrup:

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust except apples. Mix together with pastry blender. Roll dough and cut into eight pieces. Add an apple to each piece of dough and make dumplings. Put dumplings in a greased pan.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients for syrup. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over dumplings. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Frozen Fruit Cups

1 cup sugar

2 cups hot water

1 (12-ounce) can frozen orange juice (and one can water)

4 bananas, sliced

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries, slightly thawed to separate

Dissolve sugar in hot water. Mix with other ingredients. Pour into 4-ounce cups. Cover and freeze. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving or microwave till slushy. Can be refrozen.

Note: Other fruit, such as peaches, raspberries or maraschino cherries can be used instead of strawberries. Makes 20 half-cup servings.

Rolls

1 cup hot water

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup warm water

2 packages yeast

2 eggs, lightly beaten

7 cups flour, divided

In a mixing bowl, pour hot water over melted butter, salt and sugar; stir until dissolved. In a small bowl, pour warm water over yeast; stir until dissolved. Add lightly beaten eggs to yeast mixture; mix. Add butter mixture. Let rise until bubbles appear. Add flour, for soft dough, 1 cup at a time up to 5 cups. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, mix with bread hook for 5 to 10 minutes. Dump dough on floured surface. Knead in 1 to 2 cups flour till soft and workable. Grease bowl; put dough back in. Let rise for one hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down. Form dough into rolls and place on greased baking sheet. Allow rolls to rise, until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 35 to 45 rolls.