Turkey and Mushroom Meatball with Olive Cream Sauce over Sweet Potato Pasta

I'm constantly tip-toeing the line between healthy food and food that others actually want to eat. For the record, my friends do like the food I create, but they also crave those classic fatty comfort dishes...especially during these blasted cold months.

In this comfort dinner redo of classic spaghetti and meatballs, swapping sweet potatoes for pasta may seem completely out in left field, but when quickly sauteed in a touch of butter these faux 'noodles' are delightfully chewy and satisfying.  Yes, I did say butter; once in a while a touch of high quality butter really does the trick (though ghee, olive oil or coconut oil would all work as well.)

To take the sweet potato linguine a step further I tossed in a garlic cream sauce made from cashews. I know it sounds weird but if you haven't tried making cashew sauces, you really need to. Cashews are the new bacon ... not quite. But they create an amazing base for desserts, mayos, dips and so much more.  My olive cream sauce has a bite from the raw garlic, but the salty spicy combo shines against the buttery sweetness of the 'spaghetti'.

Roasted Veggie Tortilla Pizza with Kale Lime Pesto

Pizza is a funny thing - most people love it and would say it's their favorite thing ever in the whole world! And there are a few who actually don't like it. What's left is someone like me. I like the idea of pizza, but prepackaged, sugar laden sauces, cheap cheese and mile hi crusts don't do it for me.

A thin crust loaded with veggies and bursting with flavor sauces are more my style. One of my most popular cooking class is my Grilled Flatbread class. But the grill is not always accessible (especially it it's covered under 19" of snow!) and sometime you need an even quicker back up. Enter the tortilla. Tortilla's aren't just for tacos anymore. I've been making a pizza crusts out of them for years and it's time you started too.

John Bubbly (or The Thai Champagne)

I know, I know, make up one name for your new drink and stick with it. When I first concocted this drink I definitely molded it after the classic John Daly drink (iced tea, lemonade and vodka) which is a play on an Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade.)

Skipping the lemonade, I mixed iced tea with Champagne- it was that easy. The bubbles give just a little sparkle to a basic tea. To get into the details, I made the drink to go with a this snappy coconut milk cod, which is Thai-like, not to mention somewhat difficult to pair a cocktail with (this one worked great with that dish!) That lead me to iced tea, which lead me to the John Daly which got us to this point.

Because the flavors already rolling around the kitchen involved ginger and lemon grass, I tweaked my tea in that direction by brewing basic tea with a slice of ginger and stem of the lemongrass.

Now, your version doesn't have to be Thai-esque.
You could use a straight black tea or even a fruity tea; skip the lemongrass and add in a cinnamon stick. It all goes and it all depends on your palate.  I don't like anything too sweet, so the plain unsweetened tea actually helped to calm down the sweetness of the champagne for me, but you could add a touch of honey to your tea while it's steeping.

It's a refined John Daley.  It's a simple afternoon sunny sipper. It's a base idea for you to have fun with.

Moving, a Minimalist Kitchen and Homemade Veggie Broth

We are two weeks out from closing on our new place and moving. Luckily our current place is under-contract allowing us to start the packing process. Two entirely full truckloads went to donation. It was time to let go of the heavy bag I've been carting around for the past 10 years; there hasn't been a spot to hang it in our last two homes and there isn't a spot in the new place either. It was also finally time to let go of the thousands of cards and letter from friends and family through the years, but not without an entire afternoon of skimming through each one. That day was bittersweet- such warm memories relived but sad to realize these special communications are nearly extinct due to social media and smart phones.

Stacks of boxes are beginning to demand attention as are all the final details like setting up new insurance and filling out an official change of address with the US Post Office (it is worth the $1 charge to do this online!) and getting new internet ready (our address is new and nobody wants to service this new location.) Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Through all of this, all I can think of is how long can I keep my kitchen intact?? For most it is the last to get packed and the first to get unpacked. But even with that plan in place, there is quite a bit of kitchen pre-packing needed because I have an unusual amount of kitchens trinkets.

I'm not a pack rat or a hoarder, but I do love collecting little kitchen dishes, interesting utensils, and old-world cooking vessels. Partially for photography sake ... mostly because I'm just drawn towards kitchen character.

Packing is underway, cooking classes are on hold and I've resolved to live in a minimalist kitchen for the next few weeks. This got me thinking about what really are the bare essential, key items one needs to outfit a kitchen? Do I really need to own a whisk, an old school manual hand beater (who even remembers these?), a hand electric beater, an immersion blender, three upright blenders and a stand mixer?

Operation 'Kitchen Pare Down' is underway. Today I begin to the painful process of deciding which utensils and pans make the cut, already knowing some of my favorite indulgent items won't make it.

There are a few obvious items already in the 'stay' pile: a chefs knife, a paring knife, measuring cups and spoons; for the remainder I've devised a system. I'm putting EVERYTHING from the kitchen into boxes. I'll remove the items I need to cook with over the next four weeks, everything left in the box at the end of the month isn't really needed. Probably.  Maybe.  I'll post the final list here and you can all weigh in.

In the mean time, moving also means cleaning out the freezer. I save all my kitchen scraps for broth and have amassed two large bags full so it was time to make homemade broth. Broth is simple, easy and delicious way to use up vegetables.
 Side note: I took a strainer and large pot out of the boxes to make this.

Below is my basic broth recipe, this is a super flexible guideline only, adjust with what you have available. Once you have this made, use it in soups and sauces and definitely cook all your grains in it. It's a great way to get extra flavor and nutrition without added calories or fat in your Fat and Happy dishes.

Pineapple Gazpacho

This lovely pineapple has been sitting on my counter for days. Staring me down. Saying "What'chu gonna do with me? I'm gettin' ripe over here!" You know it's time to get cooking when your ingredients start talking to you.

Grilled pineapple has got to be one of my top 10 favorite things to work with- it's simply delish by itself. Chopped up in grain salad with mustard vinaigrette is so good too. Or try a drenching of homemade caramel sauce, it just kills!

Been there, done that.  This time I yearned for something fresh. The late summer sun is beating through the windows and the air conditioning never seems to shut off. That's when it hit me- gazpacho!

Classically made with tomatoes, gazpacho is a chilled Spanish soup from fresh ingredients. Throw some fruit and vegetables in a blender and your done.

Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto

I'm craving warm, hearty dishes due to a mid-summer cold snap. Can a dish satisfy those cravings and deliver a big bowl of nutrients at the same time?

Enter risotto. This risotto is made in the typical way of slowly adding broth to the rice which allows the exterior starch on the rice to become creamy; I just substituted in brown rice for an extra delicious nutty, nutrient boost. Add in mushrooms, ginger, garlic and the whole dish is a big bowl of healthy comfort

Don't keep this one till Fall, it comes in handy all Fat and Happy year round.

Grilled Tuna with Spicy Cucumber Relish and Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Healthy summer dishes. They don't have to be difficult or time consuming to be flavorful.

In this recipe, the spicy cucumber relish is off-set by the sun dried tomato hummus. Both condiments are simple back drops to let the fresh tuna shine through.

The relish and hummus can be made a day ahead of time allowing you to get dinner on the table even faster. Enjoy the remaining cucumber salad and hummus between two slices of bread or as a dip for veggies.

Have a Fat and Happy summer dish that shines from the plate.

Grilled Corn with Ancho Chile Pepper Cashew Cream and Citron Salt: An Elote Experiment

Elote, the ever popular Mexican street fare that is seen both on a stick and served in a cup with a spoon. Is it the golden charred corn or the the scrumptious toppings that lures peckish patrons in?  Honestly, the corn just becomes a vessel for the creamy mayo, crumbled cheese and lime. But just thinking about the juicy corn nibbles rolling down my forearms makes me want to lick them now.

It's in my DNA to tweak recipes so you know already my version is going to have a twist or two. First enter twist one - their are sad people out there who can't (or don't) eat dairy. It's torture to watch your friends slobber over their dressed up corn while you push around your naked cob. Until now. With the help of raw cashew it's a snap to make a dairy free cream. It sounds daunting, I know. The idea of  'soaking cashews' sounded challenging, difficult and not all that yummy, quite honestly, when I first heard about it. But once I finally worked up some ambition to give this a try, I've learned cashew cream is pretty simple. The hardest part is to remember to soak them before you need them. Add in chili pepper, garlic and some fixings and the results are sorta magical.

Twist number two- a package of Citron Salt landed in my mailbox as a strange ingredient. What if lemon replaced the typical lime in the Elote? The pale yellow nodules created  perfect harmony with the corn and pepper cashew cream, not to mention adding a real nice little crunch too.

A Fat and Happy Elote experiment gone right. Oh, did I mention how much healthier my version is?

Juicy, Tender Filet Mignon for Steak and a BJ Day

There was a time when February 14th wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to women. It wasn't fair to women because there was so much emphasis on them, they didn't get the chance to give back. Not properly. The flowers, the candy, the romance; none of this is for the man.

But that was all before. Now there is March 14th, one month after Valentines day. Steak and a BJ day: a day for men. Both are equally as important, but this is a food blog so I will focus on the steak and leave the BJ techniques to the bedroom bloggers.

There are some pairings to be discussed. What kind of steak will you be serving? And what will you serve with it?

Steaks are a matter of preference. Rib Eye is one of the tastiest and juiciest steaks thanks to a lot of extra fat. The Porterhouse and T-bone are manly cuts with a T-shaped bone (adding more flavor), the latter tends to be a little tougher. The strip steak is common and a good cut of meat without the bone. Flank steak can be tough but so good when marinated and sliced thin. The most prized cut of beef is the Filet Mignon with considerably less fat, fork tender and great flavor. Some see this as a women's steak because it is so tender. It's worth finding out which cut your partner enjoys.

Go easy on the potatoes and the heavy rich sauces to allow the meat flavor to shine through. There are so many great marinades and sauce recipes available but this cut doesn't need, save those for a cheaper cut of meat. Serve with a simple mango, chickpea or quinoa salad instead.

Red Wine Braised Pork and Lentils with Swiss Chard

 Lentils are a fabulous little bean that cooks quickly and is loaded with nutritional value. Fiber is a given with any bean, but lentils also help lower cholesterol and are a great source of vitamins, minerals and protein while being low in fat.

So if this little power packed legume is so amazing, why isn't everyone huddling over the lentil pot stewing in the kitchen?

Perhaps it's because lentils need a little flavor to make them shine. Or perhaps most people associate lentils with a flavor they are not fond of, such as curry (which I love and happens to go great with lentils.) Or perhaps it's because the lentil isn't that pretty to look at?

Enter red wine here. It's no secret that I tend to have an open bottle of wine on my counter at all times. Usually the bottle is emptied into my belly via a glass. However, on occasion, there has been the odd encounter with bottle that doesn't get drained.

New Years Hang Over Spicy Cheesy Beef Tater Tot Casserole

The blurry eyes. The pounding head. The layer of fuzz on the teeth. And the confetti and party paraphernalia stuck in your hair. Could be New Years years morning... or just another Sunday. Either way, sooner or later you are going to need hang-over food.

In my world, there are three things a hangover food absolutely must contain: potato, cheese (which also doubles as grease) and a little heat.

My Minnesota background is studded with casseroles, hot dishes and one pot dinners. These are the most easy comfort food dishes available. Mix any basic meat with a few vegetables, add a gravy-like substance along with some cheese. Voila! It becomes one of those meals you don't want to admit liking to your foodie friends, but secretly eat the entire dish.

Don't over think this! Use what is left over from the party the night before. Turkey, hamburger, beans, carrots, asparagus (I used beets and turnips) ... the cheese and the tater tots are the real keys. If you happened to make the Fat and Happy Simple New Years Roast Beef Dinner, this is a perfect dish for the leftovers and for the stragglers still passed out in your tub.

Whether your hangover is from celebration, just another night on the town or your just looking for something hearty and comforting, a tater tot hot dish is a Fat and Happy can't miss!

Tips and Techniques: I'm taking the liberty to use Velveeta in place of cheese; the truth is that it just works better in these type of dishes. But feel free to substitute a shredded cheese in its place.

New Years Hang Over Spicy Cheesy Beef Tater Tot Casserole

1-2 cups left over roast beef (hamburger, turkey or chicken), chopped up
2 tbls olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 celery sticks, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 cup gravy or stock

1 cup remaining roasted vegetables (or fresh vegetables)

1 hot pepper (jalapeno, roasted poblano, etc)

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup yogurt (or cream cheese)

8 oz Velveeta, cubed

salt and pepper,

1-4 tbls fresh herbs, chopped- thyme or sage or parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the olive oil into a large sized pan over medium heat. Add the onions and celery, cook for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add in the garlic, cook for one more minute.

If you are using fresh vegetables rather than some leftovers that have been pre-cooked, add them to the pot (including the pepper) and cook until they begin to soften, then continue. If you are are using pre-cooked veggies (including the pepper), add to the pot and then add in the gravy (or stock.)

Cook until everything is heated through. Add in the peas, yogurt and Velveetea. Add salt and pepper and any fresh herbs you need to use up. Taste and adjust as needed.

Pour the casserole into an oven baking dish. arrange the frozen tater tots on top of the mixture. Place in the oven and bake until the tater tots are brown and crispy on top - approximately 25 - 40 minutes. Enjoy while hot, then take a nap.

Simple New Years Eve Dinner

New Years Eve is a wondrous night, but it does not have to be a china-only night. It's possible to have a simple dinner party without the fuss. A roast beef allows for the option of a super sit down meal or simple sandwiches to nosh on all night long.

A little seasoning on the meat, a few roasted veggies and this plan will allow you time to party with your friends and have left overs to boot. Two people or twenty, this dinner comes together pretty easily using a mix of homemade food and purchased food.

Cheesy Turkey, Leek, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

For most people, 3-days after Thanksgiving is about the time they can't imagine eating another bite of turkey. They clearly have not tried my white lasagna with oozing, cheesy buttermilk sauce and fresh pasta filled with layers of leeks, mushrooms, spinach and turkey.

The cheesy, garlicky buttermilk sauce is not my healthiest sauce ever, but man is it good. The perfect backdrop to the turkey and leek filling.

One bite and the last thing on your mind will be turkey leftovers - trust me! Even if you purchase the lasagna sheets rather than make the pasta from scratch, this lasagna will have everyone begging for more Fat and Happy leftovers.

Grilled Turkey with Apple Jalapeno Glaze

We host two annual parties every Thanksgiving holiday, the first is an elaborate dinner featuring something like Turducken, Cornish game hens or beef tenderloin in a port reduction sauce. The second is a Left-Over's Party in which everyone brings left overs from their holiday dinner and we create new recipes out of the old.

The LO party is about food, but also to let everyone have a relaxing day with friends before heading back to the grind. Elaborate recipes sit on the back burner to make room for more simple, rustic creations. Most of those recipes never make the blog because it's not the time for photos or  accurate note taking.

One year we ended up with an extra turkey for this party so I cut it into large sections (to save time) and grilled it. An apple jalapeno glaze was created from left over hot apple cider; it was a huge hit as the spicy pepper played on the sweet apple and juicy turkey.

I decided to recreate this dish for the blog because it's a perfect crowd-pleaser for Holiday festivities; this works a simple dinner as well. If there is any left over turkey, it's fantastic on sandwiches. Annual party, Holiday dinner or Sunday tail gating - it's turkey time and Fat and Happy has the recipe for you.

Squash Soup with Swiss Chard Stuffed Onions

Cool fall weather just screams for soup - and squash is a classic choice. Sometimes soup doesn't feel like it's a full meal so I wanted to add a little something to it. These stuffed onions make use of lots of the fall vegetables and give the soup a little life.

The hardest part of this is creating the onion bowl, but if you look close at the photos, there is a slit in one side of them. After cleaning the onion, slice off the ends and make one small slice starting at the top through to bottom, from the middle of the onion out. Then peel the layers apart; this will form a big ring or bowl with a hole in the bottom. Lay a piece of the Swiss chard inside the bottom of the onions to form a loose bottom.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it comes together pretty easily. Make it a day ahead of time through stuffing the onions and hold in the fridge. Then place the whole thing in the oven (I suggest letting it come to room temperature first) and continue from there. You'll have a fat and happy fall dinner in no time!

Lemon Champagne Roasted Chicken

Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to make completely new recipes that I forget about simple, classic dishes. Take roasted chicken for example- one of the easiest and yet most satisfying dishes to make and eat. the crispy darkened skin comes out so picture perfect you can't stop picking at the edges for a nibble.


No mater how classic the dish is, I still like to give it my own little touch. In this oven roasted chicken,
the addition of champagne and grapes elevates it from a Sunday dinner to Saturday night dinner party status. Be sure to serve this with a big crusty bread to soak up the rich champagne sauce.

It's comforting in that hearty, wholesome, chicken noodle soup sort of way. Whether it's for a lazy football afternoon or to impress your in-laws, this fat and happy champagne lemon roasted chicken is a can't miss.