When I was a kid, my mom was famous for her homemade bread, rolls, and cinnamon rolls. This was in the days before breadmakers, no-knead bread, or rolls that pop out of those cylinder-shaped containers. Mom had a lot of good tricks for homemade bread, and today I'm sharing one she used every Thanksgiving.

Wouldn't it be fun to play the game "Family Feud" with the topic of Thanksgiving side dishes? If you haven't seen this American TV game show, two sets of extended family members square off against each other to try to predict what the most common responses are for a particular topic. I'm guessing the number one response for Thanksgiving side dishes would be mashed potatoes or stuffing, but after that, who knows?

I suppose there are a few people who love brussels sprouts right from the start, but there are many more of us who've needed a bit more convincing to embrace these mini-cabbage shaped vegetables. I was a bit of a slow adapter myself when it came to brussels sprouts, but these days I love them. Apparently a lot of other food bloggers do too, because right now brussels sprouts are hot, hot, hot on the food blogs, with drool-worthy brussels sprouts recipes popping up every day.

For a few years now, I've been a fan of sweet potatoes. In fact, nearly two years ago I made the bold statement that Sweet Potatoes are the New Potatoes, in a BlogHer post outlining why sweet potatoes are a better choice than white fleshed potatoes. Since that time, my love for sweet potatoes has stayed strong, and I keep coming across new ways to use them.

Mention spaghetti and most people probably think of red sauce, meatballs, and maybe some Parmesan cheese on top. Of course there's nothing wrong with that combination, but lately I've been seeing so many interesting ways to cook noodles that I thought I'd see if I could entice BlogHer readers to branch out in their spaghetti options. What seems newer than new these days is combining spaghetti with vegetables for pasta dishes that are ultra nutritious. If there's been a bit too much Halloween candy on the menu at your house, how about cooking one of these combinations over the weekend?