I love this time of year. Thanksgiving never fails to bring people together - however, it’s not simply about gathering with friends and family… It’s also the ultimate food holiday that anyone can get excited about.

Thanksgiving is traditionally about getting together with family. I happen to have a pretty giant one on my mom’s side, so turkey day is a time where we spend the entire day together.

Of course, this doesn’t stop me from wanting to gather with my friends as well.

That’s what Friendsgiving is all about, isn’t it?

Friendsgiving is something that I absolutely love to host (or better yet, attend!). Not only does it give you an excuse to get together with friends, you can chow down on Thanksgiving flavors for a second time.

This can seem like a daunting task, whether you are hosting the entire event yourself, or bringing a dish to a friend’s house.

To me, Friendsgiving is the best when you have mini versions of all your favorite Thanksgiving recipes. You get all the flavors you want from Thanksgiving dinner, but you don’t have to put in all the work to make an entire turkey, pie, etc.

This is where the magic of Vitamix comes in. If you are gathering friends together for a Friendsgiving celebration, there’s nothing like the power of a high-performance blender to make things a whole lot easier.

The truth is, a Vitamix blender takes a ton of work out of a variety of recipes and allows you to easily prep ahead of time so you aren’t spending too much time in the kitchen as your friends gather.

To completely master your Friendsgiving, here’s how Vitamix can swoop in to save the day (and make sure you aren’t completely cooked out when Thanksgiving rolls around).

Forget the Cutting Board

There’s no need to whip out the cutting board and knife with a Vitamix at hand. Long gone are the days of watering eyes when dicing onions and hours of prep work. Simply pulse those vegetables in the blender to get a fine chop that any restaurant chef will be envious of.

Whip Up A Dip

You can never go wrong with a dip, especially when you can throw all the ingredients into your Vitamix, flip it on, and let it do all the work. There’s no need to finely chop ingredients, and the Vitamix blender can even warm up the dip without you having to throw it in a saucepan on the stove or in the oven.

It’s always handy when you don’t have to dirty another pan, am I right?

Make Soup as a Shooter (Or an Easy Main)

I’m sure you know that you can make incredible soups in a Vitamix. This makes soup a great option if you want to set up a simple DIY soup bar (think potato soup with all the loaded baked potato fixings) for a main dish that won’t have you trapped in the kitchen all day.

However, I love to make a big batch of butternut squash soup and serve it in little shot glasses as shooters. Top them with a little sprinkle of chopped bacon and it’s an outstanding bite that is easily made in large batches in the Vitamix.

Fill Puff Pastry, Phyllo, And Cups, Oh My!

If you want an appetizer that is so simple to make, you can take a shortcut by grabbing the puff pastry, phyllo cups, or wonton wrappers to fill with a variety of different fillings. From sweet to savory, you can make cranberry brie hand pies, freshly puréed pumpkin filled cups, or apple pie filled wontons.

Don’t forget that you can even top all those sweet items with whipped cream, made right in your Vitamix Aer™ disc container!