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.

Holiday Sangria

Who knew National Sangria Day is December 20th? How exactly do we, as a Nation, decide on these special 'days'?  Is it on the yearly ballot and I'm just missing it? Did I not see the poll on Facebook? Or perhaps I missed the Tweetup?

No matter, somehow I found out just in time to greet the day with a new recipe. To me, Sangria is more of a summer drink so it seems slightly odd the national day is in December. Warm and spicy comes to mind before light and fruity when it's 20 degrees outside. Making a warm wine drink would be too much like a glogg (hot mulled wine), but using spices like cinnamon and clove will lend both the warm and spicy aspect to this Holiday Sangria.

 A winter heartiness comes from the addition of port. Fresh rosemary rounds out the full holiday experience; then it all comes to together with a little fizz from classic ginger ale. Filling the glasses with cranberries tops off the ultimate festive look and feel.

National Sangria Day or not, this Fat and Happy Winter Sangria is a wonderful addition to any holiday festivities.

Homemade Marshmallows

You can do that? This phrase is not foreign to me. Like when making marshmallows from scratch. Contrary to popular belief, marshmallows DO NOT have to come from a plastic bag at the supermarket.

One of the great rewards about making homemade marshmallows, besides wowing your friends and family with your mad skills, is that you can flavor them. Peppermint, vanilla, almond, cherry, caramel, chocolate, maple - pretty much anything is doable.

The process is fairly easy but messy. Luckily the clean up is a snap since it's all sugar. A little hot water and it all just melts away! However one requirement for making marshmallows is a stand mixer; unless you are looking for a good arm work out and want to hold a hand mixer for twenty minutes.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Dave's birthday means it's time for a new birthday cake. He gets to decide what 'flavor' he wants and I get to create it. It's a win-win for everyone. This year he asked for a cake that tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.

My goal is always to create something that hasn't been done before because I can't seem to accept simple solutions. Sure you could add some cherries to a box cake and probably get a fairly decent result. But if, for just a little more effort, you could end up with a WOW cake, why not??

The edges of this cake become slightly crunchy while the inside stays moist from the cherry filling. The frosting becomes a filling to emulate the gooey insides of a chocolate covered cherry. And just a little layer of chocolate on top rounds out the mouth feel.

At first bite, the response reads as deep, yummy cherry and chocolate. And the cake is cute to boot! Super for a birthday but there is no reason not to make this Fat and Happy Chocolate Cherry Cake this weekend.

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.

Crispy Potato Skin Fries

Potatoes are ridiculously versatile; I believe there is something like one-million potato recipes out there...and growing! While making mashed potatoes today I happened to create these super yummy, crispy potato skins. Often I'll use the skins in my mashed potatoes for a rustic effect but this time a more refined result was required.

The mixture of red, purple and white potatoes created a pretty pile of raw skins that starred at me begging for some love. A little butter and seasoning and you've got a new option in place of hash browns at breakfast, instead of fries or chips with a burger or a fun side to a steak. I'm quite sure a little dollop of sour cream would be extra delicious.

Whether to call them skin fries, or skin browns or crispy potato skins is the least of my worries. I need to come up with more reasons to use the inside of the potato so I can have more fat and happy skins to cook up!