While I’m a total sucker for warm, sunny skies, I do love curling up by the fire with a hot cup of something and a good book, and I’ll take advantage of any excuse to spend my day in leggings and a hoodie. (Notice the constant presence of some sort of heat source?) But I have to say, winter’s biggest saving grace is the food. Soups, stews, fresh baked bread. Ultimate comfort food—which is pretty important when we’re freezing our tushies off.

I grew up eating my Mom’s version of spaghetti often. I remember being told by someone who does have an Italian background that it’s not the correct way to do spaghetti, but I truly do not care. It’s the way I learned to eat spaghetti, and now my kids eat it the same way. We have several different pasta and sauce combinations that we eat and enjoy, but this is for sure the favorite.