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Name: Kama Holley Shaw

Background: I grew up in LaGrange, attended LaGrange High School and went on to Georgia Tech to follow in my brothers’ footsteps as engineers.

Family: I am married to my best friend, Jim Shaw of Valley, Ala., and have two wonderfully energetic and beautiful children, Gabe, 5, and Addy, 2.

Job: Process engineer with Interface.

Hobbies, activities: I thoroughly enjoy watching my kids’ activities whether it’s ball or dance; in addition, I love hanging with my girlfriends, snow skiing, beach trips with family and friends, and traveling

How did you learn to cook? Watching my mom. She was always a firm believer in cooking for the family seven nights a week. She had a huge garden while I was growing up which helped with making some delicious summer recipes that just would not be the same in a restaurant.

What is your favorite memory of cooking or being in the kitchen? Every time my grandmother visited from North Carolina she made homemade pastry (chicken and dumplings) from scratch. I used to love helping her make the dough and roll it out. Now you can just buy the pre-made frozen pastry.

What ingredient is always in your pantry or refrigerator? Parmesan cheese, I absolutely love the flavor and can put it on any dish.

What is your favorite cooking tool? The Pamper Chef food chopper. It helps speed up the process of chopping those veggies for a great healthy salad.

Do you have a favorite cookbook? Definitely the Junior Service League “Grits and Grace: cookbook; it’s simple, quick, easy to read and has delicious recipes.

When you go out to eat, what is your favorite thing to order? Seafood, something I do not cook but I thoroughly love to eat.

What recipe is your comfort food that reminds you of home? Spaghetti. My mom always made a large pot so she could freeze and have a quick meal any day time was limited. It is a dish that is so easy to put loads of vegetables in and the kids love it.

What was your biggest disaster in the kitchen? Fudge. I made my first batch for co-workers years ago and they ended up hard as a rock - you could hear them hit the bottom of the trash can. I am not much of a baker, I would rather cook and alter recipes, something you cannot do with baking.

What is your “old faithful” recipe that you rely on time after time? Crock pot chicken – it’s super easy when you work and have two little kids and time is very limited.

What is the weirdest thing you ever ate or cooked? Escargot while skiing in France years ago – not bad, but I would probably stick to the norm.

Final note: Summertime is a great time of year to get in the kitchen and try new things. There is nothing better than home-grown vegetables. You can put them into any dish, even if it’s a prepackaged meal, just sauté them up and add to the ready-made meal; you can not beat the added health benefit.

Crock Pot Chicken

This is quick, super easy and healthy.

2 cans Tuscany chicken Progresso Soup

1 bag frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can sliced carrots

1 can navy beans

Place frozen chicken in crock pot, pour both cans of soup over top and cook on low for 8-10 hours. For the last half hour, add rinsed carrots, tomatoes and navy beans into the crock pot to simmer. Before serving take two forks to separate chicken. I serve this with a brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

Sun Dried Tomato/Pea Dip

1 bag frozen sweet peas

3-4 ounces sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup 0live oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, process frozen peas until chopped, add sun dried tomatoes, garlic cloves, salt and pepper, chop until finely chopped and blended, adding olive oil all along to moisten. Serve with crackers, chips or a baguette.

Ramen Noodle Slaw

1 head cabbage, shredded

1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles

Oil

Vinegar

Sugar (spoon full)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and chicken flavored seasoning packet until well blended. Pour over shredded cabbage and mix well. Before serving, crush up raw Ramon noodles and sprinkle over slaw and mix.

Summer Couscous Salad

1 box whole wheat couscous

1 English cucumber

20 grape tomatoes

1 small Vidalia onion

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1/2 cup Greek salad dressing

8 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Cook couscous according to box directions and set aside to cool. Dice cucumber, onion and tomato and mix in with cooled couscous. Mix in drained and rinsed chickpeas. Pour in salad dressing and mix well. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve. Do not mix dressing in too far before serving, couscous will overly absorb the dressing.

Summer Pasta and Veggies

1 box angel hair pasta

1 Vidalia onion, diced

3 medium squash, diced

3 small zucchini, diced

1 pack button mushrooms, sliced

1 packet Knorr sun dried tomato pesto seasoning

20 grape tomatoes

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta and set aside. Saute onion for 3 minutes; add diced squash and zucchini and saute until tender, ab0ut 5 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes. Mix seasoning packet with olive oil, then blend with pasta. Add vegetables and carefully mix. Cut tomatoes in half and mix with pasta. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 package frozen spinach

2 cans of artichoke hearts, diced

1 can of Rotel tomatoes

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw and drain spinach. Mix with chopped artichokes and Rotel tomatoes until well blended. Mix in cream cheese and sour cream, then add pepper jack cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix well. Place in casserole dish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbling. Serve with tortilla chips.