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Judy Brown has no shortage of accolades in her life as an education professional, but she said one of the greatest honors she has received was being asked this year to deliver the Commencement Address at her alma mater, Vina High School in Franklin County.

"It was just so neat to be there," said Brown.

And since being named the Association for Career and Technical Education’s (ACTE) 2008 Teacher of the Year, Brown has been speaking to groups across the state and nation about the importance of career-tech education.

"As the ACTE spokesperson for 2008, it’s an honor to have so many opportunities to speak to people about career and technical education opportunities, to let them know what’s really good about these programs and what’s going on in Alabama," remarked Brown.

While she now works for the state Department of Education, Brown says her award was based on her last year of teaching at Bob Jones High School, where she planned and created the Bob Jones Culinary Arts Academy.

"It became one of the school’s most popular areas of study and there is such a need for career-tech education. Every student will not go to college and there is a demand for skilled labor in Alabama," said Brown.

As part of her work as an educator in Family and Consumer Sciences, Brown became a certified chef, but her love of cooking began in her mother’s kitchen when she was a young girl.

"There were four daughters and a baby brother in the family and we all had a rotation of chores, and cooking was part of that. My sisters would trade chores with me during their cooking weeks. I’ve just always had a passion for cooking and baking in particular," Brown recalled.

"I was probably six or seven when I started cooking and I remember pulling a stool up to the stove so I could see. Mother always told people my first catered event was a baby shower I made tea cakes for when I was nine, and she said my tea cakes were what she missed most when I moved off," she added.

After marrying her husband Bob, who retired a few years ago from the Air Force, Judy learned a lot about food by moving around as part of a military family.

"It was my first exposure to food outside of traditional Southern specialties and it was a good way to learn about different cultures and their foods," said Judy.

While her fondness for foods is part of what drives her to continue working with teachers to build and improve culinary arts programs across the state, Judy’s dual-residence lifestyle doesn’t leave her with much time for cooking in her own kitchen.

"While my home is in Madison, I live in Prattville during the work-week. It’s hard to cook for one and I miss cooking. But the family expects a full meal when I get home for the weekend," she said.

Many of the recipes Judy shared this month come from her years of teaching Family and Consumer Sciences.

"We made Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds every fall during the season and we used the Banana Slush Punch and Sausage Bites for catering special events. And the Bama Balls are always a hit. We used them for a fundraiser once and made over $2,000 in just a few weeks of selling them," stated Judy.

Kellie Henderson is a freelance writer from Troy.

Banana Slush Punch

2 cups sugar
3 cups water
4 bananas, ripe
1 (12 oz) frozen orange juice concentrate
¼ cup lemon juice
1 (46 oz) can pineapple juice
1 (2 liter) ginger ale or 7-UP

Bring sugar and water to boil; simmer 20 minutes dissolving sugar. Set aside. In blender mix bananas and frozen orange juice. Pour banana mixture into syrup mixture and add lemon juice and pineapple juice. Freeze this liquid until solid in plastic containers. Thaw 2-3 hours before serving. Pour in punch bowl and add ginger ale or 7-UP.

Note: I use pint-size Tupperware containers. They fit and breakup better in punch bowl.

Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds, washed, cleaned and dried
2 Tablespoons butter/margarine
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper

Clean seeds out of pumpkin, wash and spread out on paper towel to dry over night. Place a piece of paper towel on top to cover seeds. Next day pick seeds off paper towel. (Some will stick just pull them off.) Preheat oven to 300o. Melt butter. Add seeds, salt and spices; toss to coat. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet and bake 30-40 minutes, stirring often, until they are brown and crisp. Makes 2 cups.

Butterscotch Muffins

Batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix, low fat or regular
1 (3.4 oz) instant butterscotch pudding mix, low fat or regular
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
4 eggs
¾ cup corn oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup walnuts, chopped
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine topping ingredients together. Mix well

In bowl, combine the muffin dry ingredients. Mix well. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Mix well. Combine the dry and wet ingredients; mixing well. Fill greased or lined muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle with topping mix. Bake at 350^o for 15-20 minutes.

Note: I added the low fat pudding mix, changed 2 butterscotch mixes to one vanilla and one butterscotch, and changed to dark brown sugar instead of light from the original award winning 4-H recipe (just like a chef to change a good recipe). If you would like to take out more of the fat and calories you can use egg beaters and substitute sugar. However, the texture will not be as light! Do not fill tins more than 2/3 because they do rise.

Sausage Bites

1 Tube (7 ½ oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (My husband calls them bam! biscuits because you must bam! them on the counter to open them!)
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
4 ½ teaspoons parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you like hot!!!)
1 (8 oz) package precooked Jimmy Dean Sausage Links

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each biscuit into a 4-inch circle. Brush with melted butter or margarine. Combine parmesan cheese, oregano and pepper. Sprinkle small amounts over buttered biscuit. Place a precooked link in the center of each and roll up. Cut each widthwise into four pieces. Bake at 375^o for 10-15 minutes. Makes 40 sausage bites.

Note: I like Jimmy Dean Sausage Links because they have less fat and taste great. Also, I freeze the bites before baking and pull them out as needed. They will freeze well for 6 months.

Chef Judy’s Bama Balls

2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 (1 pound) box powered sugar
1 stick of margarine, melted
1 (12 oz) package of chocolate morsels
1/2 bar paraffin

Combine peanut butter, sugar and melted margarine. Mix well and form huge ball, then pinch off and form walnut-sized balls. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Melt paraffin and chocolate in double boiler. Melt completely, remove pan from stove and add about 4 balls to melted chocolate. Use two spoons to dip and place on wax paper. Continue dipping process until all balls are complete. Trim excess chocolate with knife and freeze until needed. Makes approximately 50-60 balls.

Bob's Crock Pot Chicken Dressing
& Chef judy's cornbread

Dressing:
3 cups chicken broth
2 (10 ¾ oz) cans cream of chicken soup
1 stick margarine, melted
2 whole eggs, hardboiled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons sage
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
Corn Bread, crumbled into small pieces, approx 2 quarts

Corn Bread:
¾ cup self-rising corn meal
¼ cup self-rising flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
¾ cups of milk
¼ cup corn oil

(Double this recipe for dressing.) Mix all together and pour into muffin tins. Bake at 425^o for 25 minutes.

Dressing: Mix together corn bread, sage, onion, eggs, margarine, 1 can of soup (save other for layering in crock pot) and 3 cups of chicken broth (this makes very moist dressing, use less for dryer dressing).

Layering: In a large crock pot layer 1/2 can of soup, 1/2 dressing, 1/2 chicken, 1/2 dressing, 1/2 chicken, and 1/2 can of soup. Cook on high for 5 hours.

Chef Judy’s
Sweet Potato Soufflé

Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup butter, melted
Evaporated milk as needed
1 bag of marshmallows

Potato Mixture:
3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/3 cup butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup milk
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon orange flavoring

Mix flour, brown sugar, pecans and butter. If dry, add milk to make moist. Set aside to be used for topping later. Stir potatoes together with butter, salt, sugar, milk, eggs and orange flavoring. Place potato mixture in a 9 x 13 pan and spoon topping on potatoes. Bake at 350^ofor 35 minutes. Sprinkle with marshmallows and brown.

Chef Judy’s
Broccoli Casserole

6 Tablespoons margarine, divided
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons flour
¼ cup water
1 (8oz) jar processed cheese spread
2 (10 oz) packages broccoli, thawed and well drained
3 eggs, well beaten
½ cup soda crackers, crumbled

Sauté onion in 4 Tablespoons of margarine until soft. Stir in flour and add water. Cook over low heat stirring until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Blend in cheese. Combine sauce and broccoli. Add eggs; mix gently until blended. Turn into a greased 1 ½ quart casserole dish. Cover with cracker crumbs. Dot with remaining margarine. Bake uncovered at 325^o for 40 minutes.