With a cover featuring a stethoscope — symbol of the medical profession — and a roasted chicken — representing home cooking, The South County Hospital Cookbook makes its roots perfectly clear.

The fact that the stethoscope seems to be listening to the chicken indicates this is a fun cookbook.

Published in the fall as a fundraiser for the hospital’s Capital Campaign, the collection of 200 recipes comes from the staff of the hospital in just about every department. Already the book has contributed funds to the opening of a 60-bed wing that updates the hospital’s facilities, said Martha Murphy, manager, marketing and communications, South County Hospital Healthcare System.

The cookbook has recipes from breakfast and appetizers to soups and sides to breads and muffins and desserts. It’s a paperback in a convenient kitchen-counter size.

Many of the recipes include a bit of personal history. Ava Sawyer shares not only a recipe but the fact that “These are the oatmeal cookies that I grew up eating. This is my Nana Mary’s recipe. One of my favorite memories of these cookies is that we were allowed to have one for breakfast because they were oatmeal. Whenever anyone in the family makes them they call everyone up and share them.”

Ann Marie McGarty shared a chocolate and Guinness Brownie recipe from Grace Neill’s, a pub in Ireland. Favorite birthday cake recipes are offered as are recipes that have been passed down from friends who work at the hospital. Marcia Comorosky shared a vegetable lo mein that a colleague brought into the hospital to share and Pam Burlingame donated a cherry streusel cake recipe that she enjoyed at an emergency room party one year.

Though there is at least one recipe that admits to be “an artery clogging masterpiece,” the Hospital’s Food and Nutrition Department submitted several recipes sure to be healthful. Other recipes were featured in one of the hospital’s heart healthy lectures. The book costs $14.95 and is available at the hospital gift shop, on the Web site at www.schospital.com or by phoning Nicole Manfredo at (401) 788-1610.

CHICKEN AND ARTICHOKES

1 pound boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized chunks

2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 jar marinated artichokes (8 ounces)

Loaf of crusty bread

Coat chicken in flour and breadcrumbs. Heat oil and butter and cook chicken until browned and juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan.

Deglaze pan with chicken broth and vinegar. Bring to a boil and then simmer 3 to 4 minutes (until reduced by about half).

Add undrained artichokes and cook additional 1 to 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan and cook until heated through and sauce slightly thickened.

Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4.

From Melissa Frias

EASY PLEASING MEATLOAFS

2 pounds ground beef

1 package Stove Top stuffing

1 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients except 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.

Shape meat mixture into 2 loaves, side by side in 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Top with remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.

Bake for 35 minutes or until centers are no longer pink.

Serves 6 to 8.

From Lois A. Christy

MINCED CLAMS STUFFED MUSHROOMS

20 to 24 fresh mushrooms, stems removed

1 can minced clams (6 1/2 ounces)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 bell pepper finely chopped

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon Italian style seasonings

Ground black pepper to taste

1 cup melted butter

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, Swiss or cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange mushroom caps hollow side up in a lightly greased 9 by 13 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together minced clams, garlic, Parmesan cheese, onion, bread crumbs, green bell pepper, parsley, Italian seasonings and black pepper. Stir in 1/2 of the butter or enough to make the mixture slightly moist.

Generously fill the mushroom caps with clam mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly browned.

Serve with wedges of lemon.

Tip: If you love cheese, sprinkle additional grated cheese on the mushrooms before adding the mozzarella.

Serves 10.

From Mary Alice Houle

BAKED STUFFED COD

1 pound cod fish

20 Ritz crackers crumbled

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté vegetables with seasonings. Add crumbled Ritz crackers and mix well.

Place fish in oblong pan. Spread crumb mixture on top. Sprinkle with lemon juice and bake 30 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

From Sandra Liguori

TREASURE FILLED COFFEE RING

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon orange peel

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese

2 6.3-ounce packages of Grands flaky biscuits

1/2 cup butter or margarine melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray inside of a bundt pan. In a small bowl, combine sugar, orange peel and pecans. Set aside.

Take the cream cheese and cut in half lengthwise and crosswise to get 8 equal pieces.

Separate each can of biscuits. You should have 16. Open the biscuits part way and put a piece of cream cheese inside. Pinch to seal the edges. Do this to all the biscuits.

Dip the biscuit dough in the melted butter then into the sugar mixture. Stand biscuits on edge, slightly overlapping, around the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and drizzle with the remaining butter.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 1 minute and turn onto a serving plate. If you leave in bundt pan, you will never get your coffee ring out. Turn your coffee ring onto plate and keep the bundt pan loosely covering it to keep the shape.

Serves 16.

From Laurie Golden

OATMEAL COOKIES ALLA NANA

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix first 6 ingredients, then add eggs followed by the oil, and the vanilla. Mix well.

Use a teaspoon to measure the amount of dough to use for each cookie.

Roll dough into a ball and place it on a cookie sheet. There is no need to grease the cookie sheet.

Bake 12 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.

Yields 3 dozen.

From Ava Sawyer

My mom has made this cake for years and it’s one of our favorite birthday cakes. We have even tried it with raspberry cake mix and Chambord.

HARVEY WALBANGER CAKE

1 package orange cake mix (18.25 ounces)

1 package instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounces)

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup orange juice

4 eggs

1/4 cup vodka (2 ounces)

1/4 cup Galliano (2 ounces)

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients. Mix 4 minutes with mixer at medium speed.

Grease and flour bundt pan or 13-by-9-inch cake pan. Pour batter into pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes, remove from bundt pan or leave in 13-by-9 inch pan. Mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Glaze when slightly warm.

Serves 10 to 12.

From Kristen Stewart