For the seventh straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2013."

Sam Shields is known as one of the fastest players on the Green Bay Packers roster, and – even in the National Football League – he’s considered an athletic marvel.

Coming out of the University of Miami four years ago, the 5-foot, 11-inch cornerback ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash, recorded a 39-inch vertical jump and bench pressed 225 pounds 15 times.

Now, 4.3 is fast – but the 4.26 he was timed in 2007 at Miami is really fast. Depending where you look on Google, you might even see that he’s run a 4.2.

The secret to all this? Mom’s shepherd’s pie.

OK, maybe not, but Shields admits that he loves stay home and cook rather than head out into Green Bay for dinner.

"I like cooking," he said. "That’s my thing. I do a lot of cooking. I was raised like that. I always in the kitchen with my mom trying to learn what she was making. That’s what I do. I like to cook shepherd’s pie. That’s one of my main dishes."

Shields says he stays true to what a shepherd’s pie is – a baked casserole that is lined with cooked meat and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes.

His veggies of choice? Green beans, corn and onions.

Shields says he can pretty much eat whatever he wants without gaining weight, but the small selection of restaurants around Lambeau Field have helped him hone his cooking technique.

"Up here they really don’t have too much southern food, like ox tail or neck bones and things like that," said the Florida native. "I chop up steaks and put it together with onions, some of that – the tomato sauce. I put it together with rice. I don’t know what it’s called, but just different kind of dishes. Baked chicken. Things like that."

That same problem has led to teammate Morgan Burnett turning to his fiancée, Nicolette, to prepare some home-made dishes.

"Everything she does is good to me," he said, grinning widely. "She does real good with the fried chicken wings. I love it when she does steaks with salad. I love the fried chicken wings and homemade macaroni and cheese. She’ll either do garlic biscuits or garlic toast. I don’t know her secrets."

But, Burnett is not as handy in the kitchen as his teammate in the secondary.

"When it comes to cooking, all I can do is bacon and eggs," he said with a laugh. "That’s about it. I just leave it all to her and she does her thing with it."

Don’t think that players up on "Green Bay Island" are the only ones good in the kitchen – Milwaukee Admirals center Mark Van Guilder is so good at it he’s auctioned off his chef services for charity.

"It starts at the beginning of the year when I’m looking stuff up and trying new things," he said. "I’m spending a lot of time on it. Then after about a month into the season I get so sick of it and keep it simple – straight fish, sweet potatoes, couscous, quinoa. I have my moments."

While he may keep it simple, and healthy, Van Guilder does have a specialty.

"I think that’s the coconut crusted chicken, with the diced up sweet potatoes." he said. "Throw those in the oven and pour maple syrup on them. Anything with maple syrup poured over it is delicious. That’s usually my two go-to’s. I’ll change it up with some vegetables. I’ll usually throw ‘em on the grill or sauté it."

Like Burnett, Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders stays out of the kitchen, instead leaving the cooking up to his family, or personal chef.

"My mom (Marilyn Smith) makes a fried pork chop with dirty rice and steamed broccoli or cabbage, something southern with a bunch of gravy and stuff," the Florida native said of his favorite childhood dish. "I wouldn’t know (if there are spices) – when they go in there, I don’t even look at the kitchen. It’s so foreign to me."

His father, Larry, Sr., is a good cook, but Sanders laughed and said he was only allowed into his mom's cooking space when it was time to do the dishes.

A new home-cooked favorite is his wife's pot roast.

"She lets the pot roast cook all day, with potatoes and carrots," he said. "She'll mix that with corn and rice."

While you may see your favorite athletes and out and about, both in person and on social media, know that sometimes even they have a hard time passing up a good, home-cooked meal.