Fall’s in the air and the major holidays are around the corner. This is the time of year families and friends start thinking about getting together and doing what they do best ─ eat.

Turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies consistently top the holiday foods list, and every family adds its own particular favorites. Folks look forward to seeing the delicious delights ─ for another year ─ beautifully displayed on the dining room table.

But for those who want to add a little spice to their menus, we have some appetizing ideas – about 90 tasty recipes submitted in an employee contest at LCRA. These family favorites use foods that are grown or raised from Central Texas down to Matagorda Bay, such as vegetables, beef, poultry and eggs, grapes, dairy, rice, fruit, berries and pecans. (A blue ribbon indicates the winning recipe in each category.)

Take for instance, Texas White Chili, the judges’ overall favorite. (You can find this recipe under “Poultry and Eggs.”) When you get tired of baked turkey, use some of the leftover white meat (or chicken breasts) to cook up this chili featuring great northern beans, chili powder, white onions, jalapeno peppers, green chilies, garlic, cumin and oregano. This makes a hearty dish for watching football or serving loads of relatives who are still around the next day.

If you like to bake, you can whip up a delicious pie with dewberries, which are found in the frozen food section this time of year. The submitter said Mom’s Dewberry Pie (look under “Berries”) has been a family favorite for well more than 50 years, and it reminds him of Christmas. “My first memory of this pie was that it was baked in a wood stove in my mom’s kitchen,” he wrote. “It is a Christmas tradition. It also works as well with blackberries.”

Are you hungry yet? Thumb through the mouth-watering recipes, and we bet you can find one to whet your appetite this holiday season.

Homegrown veggies are the best!

Fresh shrimp is always a favorite!