Chilton County native Shelia Knight and her husband Terry have a little peach fuzz flowing in their veins, and she said their love of Chilton County is something they’ve passed along to their daughters Payton, 15, and Raegan, 11.

"The girls both say they want to stay pretty close to home after they finish school. We love farming and cows and a country setting," said Shelia.

Cooking has been an important part of Shelia’s family heritage as well, adding she learned to cook at her mother’s side.

"She’s an excellent cook and her mother was also. Cooking has just been passed down the line," Shelia said, and she continues to pass the tradition down to her own daughters.

"Both girls are very involved in 4-H. Raegan has won several state and regional titles as part of their Chef program, and Payton often starts dinner for me before I get home from work," she explained.

Shelia has worked 20 years for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, but she has recently started a new position investigating prescription fraud. Aside from work and church, her and Terry’s lives revolve around their girls.

"Payton has won several state and regional titles with her show cattle, a tradition from Terry’s side of the family, and she’s on her school’s dance team. And Raegan competes in beauty pageants and cooking competitions, in addition to their other 4-H activities," said Shelia.

Shelia added her family looks forward every year to the Peach Festival in Clanton.

"Raegan has won the junior division of the Peach Cook-off twice, and I won the Cook-off one year as well. Terry’s grandfather Sam Headly was the oldest peach farmer in Chilton County before he retired last year. The festival is something the girls enjoy, so it’s fun for us to keep them involved. We weren’t able to go this year because the date conflicted with our family vacation, but we’re already planning and preparing for next year’s Peach Festival," she said.

In the face of such busy schedules, her family still tries to have dinner together every night.

"We do eat together most nights, but it gets hard sometimes. With school starting back and all the extras go along with that, it’s been almost 9:00 before we all sat down to dinner lately. But it’s good to have that time together," she said.

Several of the recipes Shelia shares this month feature Chilton County’s famous peaches.

"Last fall the girls and I were featured on Montgomery’s WSFA Channel 12 and we made Peach Salsa on the air. The Mini Fruit Pizzas recipe is Raegan’s and Peach Enchiladas are a favorite recipe of our family’s," Shelia said.

She also offers her Chicken Spaghetti recipe which is simpler than many other versions.

"Payton had eaten it at a friend’s house and she wanted me to get the recipe. When I saw it only had five ingredients, I couldn’t believe how simple it was. People love it though," she stated.

Kellie Henderson is a freelance writer from Troy.