Tamales

First off, I do not use pork. Colby's stomach and pork do not get along. I am not spending that much time in the kitchen for something everyone in the house cannot eat. I use parts of this recipe. I also break it into two days.

Day One:

Prepare filling. I do this part in the crock pot.

1 whole chicken or 3 lb. beef roast
2-3 cups broth (same type as the meat)
1 taco seasoning mix (chicken may require 2)
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Put meat, broth and seasonings in crock pot. Cook 6 hours on high. When done, pull meat out and shred with forks. Then place in refrigerator overnight.

Day Two:

Boil 5 to 6 cups water. Remove from heat. Add 4-5 bundles of corn husks, place a bowl on top of them to keep them under water, so they can soften.

Get out steamer pot. Place clean coin in bottom of pan (if you run out of water it will rattle alerting you to the need to add water). Add water to just under steam rack. When the husks have softened, if you are worried the tamales will fall through the steam rack, place a few husks over the steam rack.

Mix the masa:

4 cups Instant corn Masa Mix
3 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (no salt)
1 cup fresh corn oil
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Put the masa, salt, and garlic powder in a large bowl and combine the dry ingredients.Then add the corn oil and mix with your hands. Now add the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time.

Continue to mix with your hands and adding the broth until you get the consistency of cookie dough.You should have a consistency that you can spread with a knife or spreader.

If you add too much liquid you can always add a little more masa to thicken it up.

Putting the tamales together - for pictures see site listed above.

The corn husks should be soft and pliable. Take a few out and pat them dry with a paper towel or towel.

Take a spoonful of masa and spread it on the corn husk.

Leave the pointy end without masa so you can fold it over.

Place a small amount of the shredded meat mixture in the middle of the masa.

Fold the masa over so the ends meet. The idea is to put just enough meat so that you can encase it in masa and not leak out. Now roll it up.

After you roll the tamale up, fold over the end. Continue to make tamales and when you are done place them in a steamer with the open end pointing up. Do not place the tamales too close together, they need to have room to expand as they steam.

Place the damp cotton towel over the top of the tamales and cover with the lid. Get the water to boil and then turn the heat to low. Simmer/steam for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check the tamales by removing one and letting it cool for 5 minutes. Open the hot tamale and check that the masa is firm and not mushy.

If need be, cook a little longer and check every 15 minutes until done.

When tamales are done take them out of the pot to cool on the counter. Tongs are great for this.

The tamales can be served immediately, kept in the refrigerator for one week or frozen. To serve after freezing, they can be steamed for about 20 minutes or microwaved for 60 to 90 seconds. These are great by themselves, with salsa, sour cream, guacamole or enchilada sauce. I like to use Rockin' Robin's Enchilada Sauce Recipe. It's quick, easy to make and very tasty.


Rockin' Robin's recipe site is a great inspiration and at least parts of this is very similar to her recipe as this is my adaptation.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can corn, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
12 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 F. In large pot mix everything except the tortillas, stir well. Bring to a boil. Cut tortillas into strips and bake for 10-15 minutes until crisp.

Serve soup with tortilla strips, guacamole, green onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese, whatever suits your fancy.

Turtle Brownies (Microwave)

These are not that great fresh out of the microwave. But they are much better after they have completely cooled.

4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c diced pecans
1/2 c caramel bits

In microwave safe dish, cook chocolate and butter for 2 minutes. While melting, whisk eggs until fluffy. Whisk in vanilla extract and sugar. Remove chocolate butter mixture and stir until smooth. Stir chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Stir in flour and pecans. Pour into greased 8"x8" microwave safe dish. Sprinkle caramel bits on top. Microwave 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Inspired by Andi J.

1 cucumber
2 roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp seasoning mix

Peel cucumber and cut into bite-size pieces. Cut tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Add oil, vinegar and seasonings to the vegetables. Stir well and taste, adding more seasoning if necessary. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

Quick Homemade Chili

1 lb hamburger or stew meat (which I usually cut into smaller pieces)
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (4 oz) diced green chili
2 (14 oz) cans diced or crushed tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of water
2 beef bouillion cubes*
1/2 to 1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic. Drain fat. Add the rest of ingredients, stir well, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for at least 20 minutes, covered. Serve with cornbread (either from a mix or scratch).

* bouillion cubes and can of water may be replaced with beef broth.

Hamburger Pie

In honor of Pi Day (March 14) I realized I do not have Mom's Hamburger Pie recipe listed. It's what we are having for dinner tonight.

This is a good use of miscellaneous leftovers in the refrigerator and freezer.

1 frozen 2-crust pie crust
1/2 lb hamburger, browned, drained and rinsed
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables or left overs from the refrigerator
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream soup mix)
Left over baked potato in chunks, or if no left over potato, boil one large or two small diced potatoes until done, drain
1 clove diced garlic

Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove pie crust from package and allow to warm to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Brown hamburger and cook onion unless using leftover hamburger. Mix all ingredients together, add salt, pepper and any other seasonings of your choice. Pour into pie crust, turn other crust out and place on top of pie, crimp edges, cut a few steam vents in crust. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. The possibilities are endless with this dish because it is different every time depending on the leftovers you have available. I sometimes add shredded cheese to the mixture.

Shrimp and Scallops with Rice

2 cups hot cooked jasmine rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb shrimp, deveined, shelled and tails removed
1 lb scallops
4 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch green onions chopped
8 oz snow peas
1 can sliced water chestnuts drained
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons corn starch

In a sauce pan bring chicken broth to a boil, whisk in ginger and garlic powder. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat.

In a wok or large skillet, sauté shrimp, scallops and garlic. Add snow peas and water chestnuts, stir well. Stir in thickened sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir and cook until everything is heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Yield: 8+ servings

Blackberry-Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Recipe adapted from here.

Blackberry-Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 containers of blackberry-raspberry freezer jam, thawed (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan (or line pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray).

In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted butter so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Add milk and vanilla, makes mixture slightly sticky. Press 1/2 of the oats mixture evenly into the bottom the prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, mix jam with lemon juice, vanilla and cornstarch. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

Cherry Berry Pie

Going to add this one in case the recipe turns out well. I made it up after reading several other recipes and a need to use up a frozen pie crust.

1 frozen 2 crust pie, thawed
1 lb frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
1 lb frozen cherries
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon peel
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the bottom crust and place bottom crust of pie to pre-bake for 10 minutes. Also place an empty cookie sheet in to preheat.

While crust is pre-baking, mix frozen fruit and spices together. When crust comes out, turn oven down to 375 degrees. Pour fruit mixture into crust. Cover with top crust and cut a few slits into crust for vents. Place on preheated cookie sheet and put on lower rack of oven.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes until done.


* This came out delicious. Next time will add more flour and cornstarch as the filling needs more thickening.

Pasta Primavera with Chicken and Bacon

This was a kind of clean out the refrigerator dinner.

1 lb pasta
1 jar garlic alfredo sauce
12 pieces of bacon, chopped into bite size bits
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 handful shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until just under done. Drain. Add alfredo sauce, bacon, chicken, mixed vegetables, olives and mushrooms. Pour into casserole dish. Sprinkle green onions and parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with bread and steamed vegetables or salad.