Recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions with Feta

You could have these Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions with Feta for Thanksgiving, but I'd happily eat this for a Meatless Monday main dish.

I realize these Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onion and Feta may be a tough sell with some people who love sugary sweet potato casserole, but I loved them and so did my nephew/cooking assistant Jake who never used to like sweet potatoes at all.  I've been trying out savory sweet potato recipes for a few years now, and somewhere along the way Jake realized he *does* like sweet potatoes when they aren't topped with brown sugar/and or mini-marshmallows.  I also think that roasting the sweet potatoes is a wonderful trick to bring out their natural sweetness, and combining them with something salty like Feta cheese gives that wonderful salty-sweet combination that is so appealing.  I'm adding this to the Thanksgiving Recipes on the blog, but quite seriously, I'd also be very happy with a big dish of this for a Meatless Monday dinner as well.

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Recipe for Barely-Blanched Broccoli Salad with Feta and Fried Almonds

Barely Blanched Broccoli Salad with Feta and Fried Almonds is a nice change for Thanksgiving!

(I had to miss Phase One Fridays yesterday so I could post my tribute to Lis, but there are so many Thanksgiving recipes I want to share before the big day that I decided just this once we could have Phase One Saturday; this recipe is something I think everyone would love for Thanksgiving!)

Even though there's a great list of Low-Glycemic Thanksgiving Recipes in the recipe index, every year I have fun testing new ideas that might make it onto the Thanksgiving table.  Last year my favorite new Thanksgiving recipe was probably 100% Whole Wheat Stuffing "Muffins" with Sausage and Parmesan, a dish I worked on for several tries until I got it just right.  It's too early to tell what's  going to be my favorite from Thanksgiving 2011, but I know that this Blanched Broccoli Salad with Feta and Fried Almonds is something I'll be making over and over.  If you like broccoli, Feta, and almonds, be sure to try this dish even if you don't make it for Thanksgiving.

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Recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto or Spread (and a tribute to Lis - Queen of the Daring Bakers)

(Updated November 2013 - One of the best things about blogging is the amazing way that people you'll never meet in person can touch your life in the virtual world. This week the food blogging community was stunned and saddened to learn about the death of Lisa Cifelli, co-founder of The Daring Bakers, who died at the far-too-young age of 44.  Through The Daring Bakers, Lis encouraged others to challenge themselves with amazing recipes for baked creations of every type, and her enthusiasm and generosity was part of the reason this blogging event eventually had thousands of contributors every month.  I was never a Daring Baker, but I enjoyed following along each month as the bakers shared their posts, and I "knew" Lis through other events like the one featured below.  She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, and I'm dedicating this post to her memory.)  

My Italian is pretty basic, although I studied it a bit when I was going to be traveling to Italy, and I'm learning ingredient names from my great friend Ilva's blog. But I know enough Italian to guess that Festa al Fresco means something like a feast of fresh ingredients. So when I heard Ivonne of Creampuffs in Venice and Lis of La Mia Cucina were hosting La Festa al Fresco, I was excited about participating in the biggest virtual food bloggers picnic ever.

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Ten Favorite Deliciously Healthy Green Vegetable Recipes that are Perfect for Thanksgiving

Here are Ten Favorite Deliciously Healthy Green Vegetable recipes from Kalyn's Kitchen that are perfect for Thanksgiving! 

Everywhere I look these days I see Thanksgiving recipes, and for people like myself who like to try at least one new recipe every year, narrowing down your choices can be a challenge.  I want to give you lots of options, so in this post I'm sharing ten favorite deliciously healthy green vegetable recipes I think are perfect for Thanksgiving.  Every Thanksgiving dinner needs plenty of green vegetables to balance out all those less diet-friendly choices, right?  

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Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Avocados and Pecans

Roasted Brussels sprouts are already amazing, and they get kicked up a notch with avocado and pecans!

For years I wasn't much of a brussels sprouts fan, and then I tried roasted brussels sprouts.   Roasting them gave the brussels sprouts an amazing nutty flavor (and the fact that the recipe had balsamic vinegar, parmesan, and pine nuts didn't hurt a bit.)  Since then I've made two more variations of roasted brussels sprouts, both equally delicious, so I probably didn't really need this recipe on the blog.  But when I spotted a recipe in Food and Wine that combined brussels sprouts, avocado, and pecans, I couldn't get that flavor combination out of my mind.  

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Recipe for Vegetarian Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, Scallions, and Goat Cheese

This delicious Vegetarian Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, Scallions, and Goat Cheese has just enough goat cheese to add an interesting flavor boost.

I've already confessed to being a butternut squash addict, and I'm always craving it at this time of year.  And even though I wrote a post about How to Peel and Cut Up a Butternut Squash, sometimes I can't resist those package of pre-cut butternut squash that show up at Costco every fall.  This delicious Vegetarian Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, Scallions, and Goat Cheese is a recipe I came up with that used half a two-pound package of pre-cut squash with some brown Crimini Mushrooms, a generous amount of chopped scallions, and just enough goat cheese  to keep it interesting.  You can use Feta if you're not a fan of the more pungent goat cheese, and some people might like to add some freshly grated Parmesan at the table.  This recipe does have a few steps, but it's quick enough for an easy week-night dinner, and perfect for Meatless Monday.

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Barely-Cooked Green Beans with Tahini-Lemon Sauce (plus 10 More Green Beans Recipes for Thanksgiving)

Barely-Cooked Green Beans with Tahini-Lemon Sauce and Parsley are a great Thanksgiving side dish!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe I first tried for the countdown to Thanksgiving last year is now something I love to make whenever I have fresh green beans.  If you buy those thin green beans at Costco, they're perfect for this.  And if you're looking for a Thanksgiving recipe that everyone can enjoy, this recipe is Paleo, Gluten-Free, and Vegan!)

Thanksgiving is kind of a fun paradox.  Even though it's a food holiday where most people have traditional favorites that they make every year, it's also the biggest time of year for food magazines, cooking shows, and food bloggers to recommend new possible Thanksgiving menu options.  I've been suggesting diet-friendly Thanksgiving Recipes for the last seven years, and that includes quite a few recipes for green beans (including Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan, which has turned into one of the most popular recipes ever on the blog.)  This new recipe for Barely-Cooked Green Beans with Tahini-Lemon Sauce and Parsley was quick enough to be super-easy for Thanksgiving, and it was something that Jake and I gobbled up when we tested the recipe.  If you don't feel adventurous enough to have this for Thanksgiving I hope you'll try it another time, because these beans are really good!

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