A twist on the traditional

But it doesn't have to be the same food and the same recipes each and every year. This year, try new recipes for some old favorite dishes. Instead of the same sweet potato casserole with the marshmallows, try one with coconut.

Instead of the same pies, try something different for dessert. Things don't have to be the same each year.

Thanksgiving is about the food, but it's also about giving thanks for the bounty for all the food out there. So try something new from what's out there.

Here are some new, yet still familiar, recipes to get started:

Sweet Potato Casserole

5 cups drained sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs, thoroughly beaten

1/3 cup milk or cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a mixer, blend together the sweet potatoes and sugar. Beat in the eggs and milk. Add the vanilla. Place in a casserole dish and sprinkle with topping mixture. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup pecans, broken

Mix all together and place on top of potato mixture before baking.

-- Recipe by Marlene Kuhn

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Campbell's Cream of

Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

3 cups fresh cut green beans

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 tablespoons canned French's

French Fried Onions

Mix the soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, onion powder, beans, mushrooms and pimientos in a 11/2 quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir, then sprinkle with onions. Bake an additional five minutes. Serves six.

-- Recipe by Creative Energy

Kahlua Sauted Yams

4 medium-sized yams

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Kahlua

Boil yams in a large saucepan until tender, but still firm. Cut yams into bite-sized pieces. For serving immediately: In a skillet, melt butter with sugar. Add Kahlua and cook one minute. Add yams and turn until brown on all sides. Cover and reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes. Turn yams once more before serving.

For preparing yams ahead of time: Heat butter and sugar in microwave until sugar dissolves. Add Kahlua to mixture and pour over cooked yams. Completely coat the yams with the sugar/Kahlua mixture and refrigerate overnight or until ready to serve. Heat in the microwave. Serves four to six.

-- Recipe by Joyce Stack, from "The Art of Cooking," the Philharmonic Center for the Arts Collector's Cookbook

Savory Dijon Stuffing

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup Dijon mustard, any brand

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (8-ounce) can sliced water

chestnuts, drained

8 cups dry bread cubes

1 (13-ounce) can chicken broth

In a large skillet, add butter, celery, onions and parsley and cook until tender. Add water chestnuts, mustard, poultry seasoning, pepper and cook another two to three minutes. Add bread crumbs, coating well with butter mixture. Add broth and mix well. This makes enough to stuff a 12-pound turkey, or place in a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven or till golden.

-- Recipe by Sylvia A. Middlebrook, of Naples, in her cookbook "What's for Dinner"

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups baked, mashed

sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients together before adding the mashed sweet potatoes. Spoon into a greased 8-inch square baking dish.

Topping

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients together, then add butter. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

-- Recipe by a loyal Banner reader

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups sifted flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup soft butter (or Crisco)

2/3 cup milk

1 egg, unbeaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cream of tartar into bowl. Add butter to flour mixture and cut with two knives until cornmeal-like consistency. Pour milk into flour mixture slowly. Add the egg. Sir to stiff dough. Knead five times on floured board. Roll to 1/2-inch thickness, adding a small amount of extra flour if needed to keep dough from sticking to board. Cut with 11/2-inch cutter. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes.

-- Recipe from C. Lawton of Bonita Springs. The recipe originally appeared in a 1964 cookbook written by Lawton's grandmother, typed on a manual typewriter, numbered by hand, tied together with string and sold by the church to help the needy.

Spiced Cranberry Pears

3 cups cranberry-raspberry juice

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 strips orange zest, 2-by-1-inch

1/2 teaspoon allspice

pinch of ground cloves

two (15-ounce) cans pear

halves in concentrated juice

Place the cranberry-raspberry juice, cranberries, zest and spices in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture is reduced to about two cups, about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, drain pears. Place pears in a serving bowl. Pour hot liquid over pears. Set aside to cool and let sit 20 minutes at room temperature before serving. Pears may be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days. Makes five to six servings.

-- Recipe by the American Institute for Cancer Research

Pumpkin Pie

1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

11/2 tablespoons butter, melted

11/2 cups milk

dash of lemon juice, if desired

1 cup sugar

1/8 cup molasses

9-inch unbaked pie crust

Sift the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together; mix with the pumpkin. Add the eggs, melted butter, molasses and milk. Add a dash of lemon juice, if desired. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the unbaked pie crust and pour contents into the crust. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for approximately 50 minutes more.

-- Recipe by Anne R. Clark from the "Favorite Recipes From: Community Congregational United Church of Christ" cookbook