Lisa Holloman, owner of Pets R Us, became a well-rounded cooking wonder from the many wonderful women in her life.

Holloman began her fair share of cooking when she was nine years old. “I remember my first big meal was Thanksgiving,” said Holloman. “My mom sat in a chair after work and told me exactly what to do. I loved it!” After the holidays, Holloman said she continued to cook when her mother worked late. “I always had dinner ready when mom got off,” shared Holloman. Holloman mentioned she grew up in a single parent home with her mother, six brothers and one sister. “Everything I know about anything in life, I learned from my mother,” shared Holloman.

When Holloman was 16, she married her first husband and gained her “second mother”, Mae Dupree. Mae taught her etiquette and, as Holloman explained, “finished raising” her. “I loved her just as much as my own mother,” claimed Holloman. “I am who I am today because of her.”

Present day, Holloman is now happily married to Brian, her husband of almost six years. She has two daughters and a son she was blessed with through her marriage. Holloman gained even more cooking knowledge from Brian’s Italian mother, Yvonne Turner. That opened up a whole new cooking world for Holloman. “She taught me how to cook Italian Beef and various pastas and baked goods,” shared Holloman. “She’s an amazing cook and I love eating her food.”

Holloman was always cooking large meals six days a week until just a few months ago. Now that her two daughters have moved out, she has decreased it to four or five large meals a week. Holloman claimed that her husband was a great cook as well and they share a lot of the cooking responsibilities.

When Holloman isn’t working at her pet store or cooking for the family, she finds herself mostly reading or riding motorcycles when the weather is permitting. Today Holloman is sharing her recipes of Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Toffee Cookies, a personal favorite of her family’s.

To nominate someone to be featured as Cook of the Week, email Tasha at Tbunch@Calhountimes.com

Parmesan Crusted Chicken



Ingredients:

1 heaping ½ cup of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise

1 heaping ½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese

1½Tbsp. garlic

Pepper to taste

4 Tbsp Italian bread crumbs

3 chicken breasts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a glass casserole dish with parchment paper. Butterfly the chicken breasts and place in dish. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic and pepper. Pat onto chicken breasts and top with breadcrumbs. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake an additional 20 minutes.

Toffee Cookies



Ingredients:

½ cup of Butter Flavored Crisco

1 ¼ cups of light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 bag Heath Toffee Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Beat in egg. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Toss to mix well. Add that mix into the other ingredients and mix well. Pour in bag of Toffee chips and mix by hand. Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies or reduce time to 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies.