Monterrey Jack and Green Chili Tamales

I grew up making tamales with my mom and aunts every year.  We usually made a MASSIVE batch of beef, chili and cheese, and cheese with black olives.  It was always a family time filled with love and tradition.  My dad's side of the family are Mexican, and my mom's side of the family are Irish, French, and German.  It's funny because although my dad's family makes tamales annually, my caucasian mom and aunt make them as well, and I grew up making tamales with them every Fall.  I have amazing memories that were made with both sides of my family centered around a simple tamale.  To me tamales are a simple culinary delight!  They are so easy and cheap to make, but they can often overwhelm those that haven't ever made them.  There are a lot of steps in the process, but once you've made your first batch it will feel like you've been making them your whole life.  I will warn you ahead of time, if you decide to make them be sure to set aside at least your whole morning or evening if you plan on making a medium size batch.  If you make a large batch, you'll need to set aside the majority of your day.  A medium batch generally produces a couple dozen tamales, and a large batch produces several dozen.  This may seem overwhelming as well, but once you're finished with your tamales, you can pack them up into Ziploc baggies, label them, and toss them into the freezer for an easy dinner or lunch.  You can even fry a tamale with an egg and make an AMAZING breakfast!

I made the chili and cheese tamales because they're kid friendly, and my family loves them.  Start by taking a 2lb. block of Monterrey Jack cheese and cut it into small pieces.  

Open your can of chili's and pour them into a wide mouthed bowl, or whatever is convenient for you.

Next you're going to grab your corn husks (the bag on the left), and your masa (the bag on the right).  Open your bag of corn husks, pull them out and begin to pull them apart.

Place the corn husks into a sink filled with warm water.  Let the husks soak for 30 minutes.  After soaking, place the husks on a towel and allow them to air dry.  

Next mix your masa in a large bowl.  Make sure to mix the masa according to the directions listed on the bag.  

My masa directions called for water, so I poured in the water and mixed until smooth.

I added a lil' veggie oil because I always saw my mom do it.  I think it makes the masa just a lil' smoother, and yummier once it's cooked.

Once you're corn husks are dry, and your masa is thoroughly mixed and smooth, you're ready to begin putting your tamales together.

Start by taking your corn husk and feeling each side.  There will be a smooth side and a rough side.  Lay the smooth side down, and place a large spoon full of masa on the rough side.  Smooth the masa down toward the bottom of the corn husk, while also making sure not to spread the masa too high up.

When spreading your masa, try to make sure that it's not too thin, and not too thick.

Once your masa is spread smoothly, place a few pieces of cheese and a small amount of chili's in the middle of the corn husk.  

Next take the left side of the corn husk and roll it toward the right side like a burrito.

Once you've rolled your corn husk like a burrito, take the top point and fold it down tucking it under nicely.

The front of your tamale should look like this.

 This is what the back of your tamale should look like by this step.

 Now that you've prepared your first batch of tamales, your ready to steam them.  Fill a stock pot of water and place a steamer basket inside.  Unfortunately I cannot find my stock pot since moving from California to North Carolina, so I was forced to use a small pot and had to steam mine lying down.

 When you place your tamales in your stock pot to steam, stand them up until the are packed around each other, and place the lid over them.  Steam your tamales for approximately 30 minutes. 

 Once your tamales are done steaming, remove them using tongs and place them on a cooling rack until they're cool enough to handle.  Once they've cooled, place them in labeled Ziploc bags and toss them in the freezer or refrigerator.  I love to make a massive amount of tamales and freeze them.  They're so easy to just pull out of the freezer, toss them into the microwave for 1-2 minutes, peel the husk off, and you're ready to eat.

 If you freeze and reheat your tamales, make sure to remove your husk after you've reheated.

Whether you eat your tamales right out of the stock pot, or you reheat them out of the freezer, tamales are a true delight!!!

Recipe:

1 4.4 lb. bag of Masa

1 bag of corn husks

2 lb. block of Monterrey Jack cheese

2-3 cans diced green chili's

You should be able to find all of these ingredients at your local Walmart.  Depending on the time of year, it can be a little more difficult to find the corn husks.  If you don't find them at Walmart, simply Google "Mexican Food Store" followed by the name of your town, and you should have no problem finding them there.  Most mexican food stores carry corn husks and masa year around.  

Cinnamon Apple Pie

I had a request earlier this afternoon for an apple pie recipe.  I gladly agreed to make one and post it, because I have this BIG box of apples sitting in my kitchen just begging to be used.

I'm sure my husband's co workers will be thrilled to find out that they're having apple pie for breakfast tomorrow, lol!  My kids will be equally thrilled when they see the mini apple crescents I made for them out of the left over pie dough.  Even if you've never made pie dough from scratch, this recipe is very simple!  You can do it, I'll even show you how ;)  Follow me, we'll do this together...

Grab your sea salt, all purpose flour, butter, and fill a cup with iced water.  

Grab 1/2 c. of butter (1 stick of butter) and cut it up into piece.  Make sure that your butter is chilled, the colder the butter, the better.  

Toss 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour, and 1/4 tsp. sea salt into a mixing bowl.  

Start mixing your flour and salt, 1 piece at a time start mixing in your cold butter.  

Mix your ingredients until it resembles loose sand.  

Measure your ice cold water that's been sitting in the cup into 1/4 c.  Don't put any ice into the measuring cup.  Slowly add your water into your mixing bowl, 1 tsp. at a time.  Mix your dough until it forms a ball.  Immediately stop mixing, place in plastic wrap, and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.  Overworking your dough will cause your crust to be hard once you bake it, and putting too much water will cause a chain reaction of having to add more flour, water, flour...you get the picture.

I made 2 balls of dough, because I wanted to also place lattice on top of my pie.  If you want  to make more then 1 ball of dough, I would recommend repeating the steps above instead of doubling the recipe. While doubling recipes is a great and easy way to multiply the amount of food you make, baking is an exact science.  Pies are straight forward and easy to make, but they are also very easy to mess up.  

Once your dough is ready to go, place a sheet of wax paper down on your counter.  A sweet lil' tip for keeping your wax paper from sliding all over the place while your rolling out your dough, is to sprinkle a few drops of water underneath the wax paper.  The water will keep the paper on the counter.  Sprinkle a dusting of flour on your wax paper, and place your dough on the flour.  Lightly sprinkle flour on the top of your dough and begin to roll out your dough.  Quickly roll in a 1/4 in. flat circle.  

Once you have your pie crust all rolled out, gently place it in the pie pan.  If you're only using 1 pie crust, fold the areas of the dough that are hanging over the sides of the pie pan, and fold the dough under itself.  Place your pie pan in the refrigerator to chill while you move onto prepping your apples.

Moving onto our pie filling, grab 8 Fuji apples, wash, peel, and core them.  

Cut your apples into small pieces and set aside.

Meanwhile preheat your oven for 425 degrees F.  Next, melt 1/2 c. butter in a sauce pan over low heat.  

When your butter is completely melted turn heat to medium, place 3 tbsp. all purpose flour into your sauce pan, and mix to make a paste.  

Pour in 1/4 c. water, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 c. white sugar, and 1/2 c. brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to lowest heat setting to simmer.

While your sauce is simmering, place your apples in the pie crust.  

If you're going to use a 2nd crust to make lattice do that step while your sauce is simmering.  Once the sauce has simmered for 5 minutes (stir occasionally), gently pour sauce over the entire pie.  Brush an egg wash (1 egg beaten and applied with a pastry brush) over the edges of your crust.  Place your pie in the oven for 35 minutes, placing a loose foil tent over the pie during the last 10 minutes to avoid overly cooked crust edges.

Sprinkle with cinnamon, and allow to cool for 1 hour.  Well, you did it!  Good job!  Now go eat that beautiful pie with your family, friends, or give it away to someone you love =)

Pie Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. All purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. ice water

1/2 c. butter

Apple Pie Filling Ingredients:

Pie crust

8 Fuji apples 

1/2 c. unsalted butter

3 tbsp. all purpose flour

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Egg Wash:

1 egg

Crock Pot Spaghetti & Meatballs

Today has been a busy day, with lots to check off on the agenda.  Between the girls school work, my school work, pictures to edit, phone calls to make, and the ever growing pile of laundry I thought a good easy dinner was in order.  My family LOVES spaghetti and meatballs, and Emma often begs me to make it on a weekly basis.  This recipe produces the best spaghetti I've ever had from a home kitchen.  Oddly, the best spaghetti I've ever had came from the dining facility at Fort Jackson, SC while I was in Army Basic Training.  How funny is that!?!?  I have found memories of rapidly stuffing down my spaghetti while there.  I can tell ya that although I may have only been able to taste it for a mere 2 seconds...it was delightful!

Whether you are rushing off to work, taking the kids to school, heading to doctor's appointments, or running around trying to get the kids together to start their school work; this recipe is for you!

Place 1 lb. of lean ground beef (I used 1/2 lb. because I like a smaller amount of meatballs) into a medium size mixing bowl.  Pour in 1 1/2 tsp. garlic, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. onion powder, and 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper.  Mix all of your ingredients together.

Using either a small ice cream scooper, a spoon, or your hands, form your ground beef into medium size meatballs.  Place your meatballs in a skillet, and brown on medium heat.  While your meat's cooking, spray some all natural cooking spray on the sides and bottom of your crock pot.

Once your meatballs are browned on the outside, transfer them into your greased crock pot.

Pour 1 jar of spaghetti sauce into your crock pot, covering the meatballs.  Gently stir the sauce, mixing the meatballs and sauce slightly.  Throw in a dash or 2 of Italian Seasoning.

Place the cover on your crock pot, turn on low, and allow your sauce and meatballs to cook for 6 to 7 hours.  

As for your sauce, you can use home made, or store bought.  For convenience sake, I bought mine, and used Trader Joe's Three Cheese Pomodoro Sauce. It's amazing by the way!!!  Emeril's sauce is fantastic as well!!!  

Once you're home from work, school, the doctor's, or just ready to get the clan fed, fill up a pot of water and bring it to boil.  Pour in a bag of organic whole wheat spaghetti pasta, and boil until al dente (firm, but not hard).  Drain your pasta, serve it up on plates, and pour your sauce and meatballs over the pasta.  Sprinkle on a little parmesan, and your all set!!!  Bon appetit!!!

Recipe Ingredients:

1 lb. Lean ground beef

1 1/2 tsp. Garlic

1 1/2 tsp. Onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. Sea salt

1 1/2 tsp. Black pepper

1 to 2 dashes of Italian seasoning

1 25 oz. Jar of spaghetti sauce

1 lb. Organic whole wheat spaghetti pasta

Parmesan cheese

*Tip for stretching your food*

If you have any left, throw it in the food processor or blender with a couple dollops of all natural or organic alfredo sauce, and mix until creamy.  Warm up slightly, and it makes a perfect meal for baby, or that exceptional little boy or girl that may not be able to chew their food just yet.  You can place puree in small containers or ziploc baggies and freeze for future use.

Pumpkin Puree = Roasted Cayenne, Salted Pumpkin Seeds, and Pumpkin Waffles

Did you know that last week was National Waffle Week?  I was late in learning this, but I did make the cut off by making waffles on Saturday morning.  I don't make waffles regularly; but when I do; I like to make A LOT!  I used to buy the frozen pre made waffles because I thought I was making my life easier by paying a couple dollars for 8 to 10 waffles that I could pop in the microwave for 15 seconds.  A couple years ago when I started looking for ways to save money at the grocery store, I realized that I was spending more on the frozen waffles, then I would if I made them myself, and then froze them for later.  During my next trip to the grocery store, I bought all of the ingredients (which are basic pantry and refrigerator staples) to make 20 + waffles intent on freezing them for breakfast's to come.  20 + waffles lasts our family from 1 1/2 to 2 months, because I make them in a belgian waffle maker.  A belgian waffle is equivalent to 2 regular sized waffles, so in reality I am making 40 waffles.

I LOVE cooking in bulk, then freezing it for later, but the real plus in this recipe is that you can mix in whatever fruit, vegetable, or grain you fancy.  This is a perfect way to get your kids to eat their veggies.  Sometimes I toss in some good ol' flax seed, sometimes sweet potato, and other times on special occasions I like to go a little sweeter with banana's, and organic dark chocolate chips.  Today I opted for pumpkin because I had 4 small baking pumpkins sitting beautifully in front of my fireplace.  I prepped the pumpkin early this morning while I was drinking my morning coffee, and then baked it during the mid morning hours.  While I was prepping the pumpkin, I decided I would also roast the pumpkin seeds, and later make pumpkin waffles, using the puree I would make from the roasted pumpkin.  Sounds like a lot, but it's all very easy =)  You ready?

Let's start by first washing your whole pumpkins, and placing them on a cutting board.  

Grab a serrated knife and cut your pumpkins in half using a sawing motion.  Place pumpkin halves skin side down, and scoop out all seeds and strings.  I used an ice cream scooper, but a spoon works well too.  Make sure to separate the pumpkin seeds into a separate bowl.  Fill the pumpkin seed bowl with water to soak the seeds.

At this time, set your oven for 350 degrees F.  Place a wire rack (if you have one) in the bottom of a roasting pan, and fill with water until the bottom of the pan is completely covered.  Place the pumpkins skin down on the wire rack.

Cover your roasting pan with foil, and place it in the oven for 1 hour.  You may need to roast for longer, depending on the size of your pumpkins.  Check the tenderness of the pumpkin flesh periodically with a fork.

Meanwhile, grab your pumpkin seeds that have been soaking in a bowl, and pour them into a strainer.  Let them strain for 5 to 10 minutes.  

Remove your seeds from the strainer, and spread them evenly over a baking sheet.  Pour 1 tbsp olive oil over the seeds.  Sprinkle on a generous amount of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt.  

Use your hands to evenly coat the seeds with the olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.  Then place in the oven at 350 degrees F (your oven should already be set and ready) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the seeds are done roasting, they should be a beautiful golden color.  

Transfer your seeds from the baking sheet to a paper plate to allow for better cooling.  Once they are done cooling, place them in baggies, and store in a pantry for up to 3 weeks...if they last that long =)

Your house should be smelling amazing now with the aroma of roasting pumpkin filling the air.  Once your pumpkin's are done, take them out of the oven and remove the foil.  Allow them to cool for about 30 minutes.  

Now that the pumpkin is cool enough to touch, peel the skin off, and separate the flesh into a bowl.

Place your roasted pumpkin flesh into your blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. 

Now that your pumpkin is pureed, pour it into a tupperware container, and freeze, place in refrigerator, can it, or set it aside for the following recipe.  You can also freeze your puree in small bowls, to be used as baby food later.  When you're ready to serve to baby, simply thaw, add a lil' olive oil, or organic butter, and a couple sprinkles of cinnamon. 

Recipe Ingredients:

2 Small baking pumpkins

Cayenne pepper

Black pepper

Sea salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

Storing tip:  

If freezing your pumpkin, write the date and time on top of the container w/ a black permanent marker.  The pumpkin will stay good for 3 to 4 months, and writing the date and time on them is an easy way to keep track of their expiration date.

Pumpkin Waffles:

Grab a medium size bowl, and whisk together 1 1/3 c. flour, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. sugar.

In a small bowl, crack 2 eggs, separating the egg whites into the small bowl.  Set the 2 egg yolks in the bowl with the dry ingredients.  Beat the egg whites until moderately stiff.

Mix in 1 /34 c. milk, and 1/2 c. butter into the dry ingredients.  Next fold in the egg whites, and mix well. Sprinkle in 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/3 c. of pumpkin puree.

Mix all ingredients together.

Plug in your waffle maker, and set a clean plate to down next to it to place your finished waffle on.  

When your waffle maker is ready, ladle on your batter and cook for approximately 2 minutes per side.  The cooking time will depend on your waffle maker.

Yummy, yum...ready set eat!  Freeze in ziploc baggies, make a breakfast sandwich or two, or place them in baggies and serve them later as snacks.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 3/4 c. milk

1tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 c. pumpkin puree

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