While you may want to block out your holiday experience from the past month or so (“stressful” doesn’t even come close), there is one thing that I love about that time of year no matter how much it makes me want to pull my hair out. It is a designated time for bringing people and loved ones together, despite our personal schedules. To keep that yule tide going, I whipped up my own mini-holiday meal after the holidays to do just that: bring friends together. Below are four yummy recipes to enjoy any time of year, stress free!

Spicy Butternut Squash Cubettes

• Ingredients

• ∞  1 package cubed butternut squash (Trader Joe’s has the perfect size!)
• ∞  1 tsp ground cumin (or more to taste)
• ∞  1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
• ∞  1 tsp cayenne (or more to taste)
• ∞  Maple syrup
• ∞  Canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400º F
2. In a plastic gallon-size seal-able bag mix a tablespoon or 2 of canola oil, all spices, and squash in bag, making sure to blow air inside bag before sealing (almost to full capacity). Once bag is sealed, start turning the beach-ball like bag of ingredients around and around until squash cubes appear to be evenly coated.
3. On a cookie sheet lined with foil, evenly distribute the squash to create a single layer. Drizzle a coating of maple syrup to your liking.
4. Bake at 400º F for 35mins. Remove baking sheet from oven; flip or rotate squash cubes.
5. Lower oven to 350º F for 20mins.
6. Take out to let cool. Enjoy!

Garlicky Kale

• Ingredients

• ∞  1 package prepped green kale “cooking greens”
• ∞  5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ∞  1/2 cup vegetable broth (I used low sodium)
• ∞  1/4 slivered yellow onion (I prefer a very slender cut for onions)
• ∞  EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1. In a large skillet, heat 2tbs EVOO over medium heat. Sautée garlic and onions until simmering and slightly browning.
2. Add kale and broth, making sure to lower heat and toss to coat kale with garlic evenly.
3. Lower heat and simmer. Taste to see if its your preferred crunchiness. If you want a softer kale, continue to cook another 5-10mins, adding a tablespoon extra broth or water to the skillet.
4. Taste test again, and enjoy!

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

• Ingredients

• ∞  2 cans cut green beans
• ∞  5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ∞  1 slice vegan butter 1/4″ thick (I prefer Earth Balance buttery sticks)
• ∞  2 tbs salted soy sauce (low-sodium will not taste the same! I made that mistake once before—not bad, but not the same)
• ∞  1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• ∞  3 spoonfuls of flour
• ∞  1 can fried onion topping

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a medium saucepan on the stove. Over a medium temp, heat the garlic, vegan butter, soy sauce, soy milk, and flour. Stir until mixture is liquid.
3. Once the mixture turns into a sauce and is thoroughly heated, add in the green beans. Stir until beans are coated.
4. Transfer mixture to casserole dish, top with fried onion topping. Put in oven and bake at 300º F for 20mins.
5. Take out and enjoy!

High-er Protein Mashed Potatoes

• Ingredients

• ∞  1-2 packages of small potatoes (think fingerling size. I used red new potatoes)
• ∞  3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ∞  EVOO
• ∞  1/2 can Cannellini beans
• ∞  1/4 yellow onion, cooked (use the other half from the garlicky kale)
• ∞  1c unsweetened soy milk

1. Bring at least 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot.
2. Add all potatoes to pot. Boil for 20mins.
3. Sautée onion and garlic in 1-2 tbs EVOO in a small pan until golden and slightly browning
4. Combine onion, garlic, boiled potatoes into blender. Add 1/2 cup of unsweetened unflavored soy milk. Begin to purée. NOTE: You will want to at least cut the cooked potatoes in half so they will puree easier in your blender.
5. Add the cannellini beans and puree again, adding additional soy milk to the blender as needed.
6. Puree to desired texture. Serve and enjoy!

Photos via my Instagram account