Here Today, Gone Tamale...



I've been in a cooking mood lately. Yes, me. Don't laugh too hard... it does happen every once in awhile. When I do get around to cooking more than hot dogs with mac and cheese, I want to have something to show for my effort. So when I ran across Amanda's recipe for tamales on her blog, Coping with Frugality, I knew what I wanted to do.

I've made tamales before...many, many moons ago. 6 years ago to be exact, while we were still living in San Diego. My good friend and neighbor Iliana very patiently showed me how. They were delicious. They were intimidating. They took all day. They were the kind of meal that you spent all day slaving over, only to have your family devour in 5 minutes then look at you wondering what was for dessert.

But in Georgia, good Mexican food is difficult to come by. Despite protests to the contrary, ground beef rolled up in a tortilla with tomato sauce on top is not an enchilada. Iliana taught me to make Chile Colorado as the filling for tamales. In the 6 years since moving, I've made it countless times, but we always end up eating it as a main dish on it's own (it's yummy!) We've never made it that extra step. That is, until today.

I gathered the kiddos. Plainly put: if they wanted to eat, they were going to help me cook. And help they did. We tore apart the kitchen and used practically every pot in the house. But we made a great assembly line. We mixed, stuffed and rolled nearly 4 dozen tamales plus made rice and beans. We had a great time. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was it worth it? Oh yes!



The best part? After we had finished eating, there wasn't one peep about dessert... Everyone is too busy napping on the couch.

Comments

Melinda said…
What a great idea! I think I could convince my 9 year old, but my 12 year old has entered the "nothing is cool but my friends" phase, so she might be a tougher sell! ;0)

Glad you found my blog and am so glad you are joining in the Operation Organization challenge. I know what you mean ... I had such high hopes for summer and now it's almost gone. This challenge will hopefully motivate all of us!
DiPaola Momma said…
Oh man I hear ya on not being able to find good Mexican food. I'm from the San Diego area (orginally) and here in Maryland what passes for Mex is more like Taco Bell (bleck!). I learned how to make tortillas years ago but never got around to tamales. Oh, Christmas time back home was tamale heaven! Sweet ones, cheese and chile verde, pork... yum. I'm stoppingin today as a Welcomista to welcome you to SITS and now I've got to go find some good Masa.. momma wants tamales!

OH btw, you can get some good REAL Mexican stuff shipped fast from Mexigrocer.com I get raw tortillas (all you do is heat them), all my spices and my chilis from them.
Lisa Anne said…
Yummy. I've never made them before, but have always wanted to. I just don't know if I have the patience to make somethign that could take all day. I usually draw the line with Rachel Rays 30 min meals. lol

That and ever corner where I live has a taqueria.

Thanks for visiting my blog and explaining HUmp day, yeah sometimes I'm the brightest crayon in the box, but I have my moments.

lol
Penelope said…
That is how you know it's good...no one asks for dessert :)

Welcome to SITS!
Jen said…
I have always wanted to make these but never had the guts. Good for you.
Oh you are a mom and an RN, me too. Nice to meet you. I stopped over from SITS.
Hi Donna, stopping in to welcome you to SITS! I am in San Diego and yes we love our Mexican food don't we :)Homemade tamales are the best!