Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies

Macadamia Nut Shortbread

These delightful shortbread cookies are a variation on another shortbread cookie recipe. To the previous recipe I added more sugar in the form of granulated white sugar and a little salt. I really like the results. These cookies are buttery, crisp, tender, and just sweet enough. 

If you don't have macadamia nuts, pecans or almonds would work great too.

If you decide to make these, be sure to use fresh, quality ingredients because the simplicity of the ingredients ensure you will taste each one. Today I used Kerrygold butter, and I think it really made these more delicious. 

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups real butter, softened but still cool
• 1 cup powdered sugar (shaken to level)
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour (shaken to level)
• 1 scant cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup finely chopped roasted macadamia nuts, or other preferred nut
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar for rolling

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixer bowl, cream together the butter, powdered sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla and mix.

Add the flour, cornstarch and salt, and mix just until combined.

Mix in the nuts being careful to not overmix.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Flatten with a greased cookie stamp or flat-bottomed glass.

Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

Remove shortbreads to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 5 dozen 2-inch cookies

Dough ready to scoop

Dough balls rolling in sugar

Before baking

Fresh out of the oven

I have to give most of these away.

Potato & Beef Burritos

Potato and Beef Burritos

I like to eat mine with a fork.

If you live in Southern California and have access to a Smart and Final store, you are able to purchase Ramona's Potato and Beef burritos, $19.99/dozen, any time you want. Since I no longer live in SoCal, but really really wanted to eat a delicious potato and beef burrito, I took to the internet and found this fantastic recipe from Pina en la Cocina. 

These burritos don't taste exactly like Ramona's but they're pretty darned close and pretty darned satisfying.

I still need to find a better, more consistent way to introduce heat. I have yet to actually try the Anaheim chiles called for in the recipe at Pina en la Cocina. So far Trader Joe's jalapeno sauce has been sufficient and easy.

So there you go. Potato and beef burritos. Try them.


Potato and Beef Burritos
     --Adapted from Pina en la Cocina

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds cooked, simply seasoned beef (Click here for a good recipe.)
• 4 - 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3-4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock (I use as much of the liquid from the roast recipe linked above as I can)
• 4 cans (4 oz. each) fire roasted diced green chiles
• Jalapeno hot sauce to taste (I use 3-4 tablespoons Trader Joe's Jalapeno Sauce.)
• 12-16 large flour tortillas

Instructions:

• In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat up 2-3 tablespoons of oil. add the cubed potatoes. Salt and pepper the potatoes to taste. Stir potatoes occasionally until they start to brown and begin to soften.
• Add the garlic, onion, and cumin to the potatoes. Stir and cook until potatoes are cooked through.
• Add the cooked beef, green chiles, jalapeno sauce, and beef stock. Stir to combine and heat through.
• Scoop about a cup or so of the mixture into the middle of a tortilla and roll up into a burrito. (Click here for a video that shows the best way to fold/roll a burrito.)
• For real Ramona's authenticity, wrap each rolled burrito in plastic wrap. When you do this, the tortilla becomes soft, steamed, and even moist from the filling juices.
• Any burritos you do not eat the day you make them can (and should be) frozen (in their plastic wrap) and placed in a zip top freezer bag for later enjoyment.
• When ready to reheat from frozen, place wrapped burrito on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 2 minutes*. Turn burrito over and heat for another 30-60 seconds. Allow to sit for at least 3 minutes to allow heat to evenly disperse throughout the burrito. Unwrap and enjoy.

*You may need to adjust this time depending on which size tortilla you used and how big your burritos end up.


Makes 12-16 burritos

Simple Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Nuggets

This chicken nugget recipe actually started with a recipe for fried pork tenderloin--a super popular dish here in Iowa. It was such a simple and delicious dish, that I decided to try the treatment on chicken. It immediately became my older son's absolute favorite dish. 

The recipe involves pounding the chicken with a meat tenderizer, which really tender chicken doesn't really need, but it does make the nuggets extra delicate and tasty. You may need to just try it and get a feel for what works for you.

This was actually the first time I made nuggets from this recipe. Usually, I fry up the fillets and we eat them on buns. We were having a Hot Ones party with friends (for those unfamiliar, you can click on the link, or just know it's a sort of challenge to eat 10 increasingly hot sauces while answering thoughtful questions), so I needed a lightly breaded chicken in relatively small pieces. These nuggets fit the bill perfectly. They're savory without being overly-seasoned OR overly breaded which is what generally occurs with store-bought nuggets.

At any rate, these are a delicious homemade chicken nugget. Give 'em a go.

Simple Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds chicken breast meat
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon chicken base (or chicken bouillon)
• 2 sleeves of saltine crackers
• vegetable or canola oil for frying

Instructions:

• Mix the hot water and the chicken base/bouillon and pour into a large bowl.
• Slice each chicken breast horizontally into two or three pieces/fillets.
• Place slices between two layers of plastic wrap, and then with a meat tenderizer pound the chicken, only hitting each spot once on each. Take care to not tenderize too much. Turn the chicken over and do the same on the other side.
• If a slice of chicken is already pretty thin, skip the pounding step.
• Cut the thin/thinned chicken into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces. Place cut pieces into the bouillon liquid.
• Working with about half a sleeve of crackers at a time, put the crackers into a gallon size zip top bag and roll with a rolling pin until the crackers are a relatively fine powder.
• Pour the cracker powder (or some of it) into a bowl or dish where you can coat the chicken.
• Set a wire cooling rack in a rimmed baking sheet or line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• Heat about an inch to inch and half of oil in shallow frying pan or cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. (Alternately, you can use a wok or other deep frying apparatus.)
• While oil heats, start to coat the chicken pieces with the cracker dust. Set coated pieces on a plate until the oil is heated.
• When oil is heated, fry as many pieces of chicken that will fit in the pan, leaving at least a quarter inch between pieces.
• Fry until light golden brown and then using tongs or a fork, turn over to fry another minute or two until browned on the other side.
• Remove cooked chicken pieces to the prepared wire rack or paper towel lined baking sheet.
• Continue frying until all chicken has been fried. When finished, turn off the heat and  set oil aside to cool and then discard.

Makes about 2 dozen chicken nuggets.

This chicken breast is pretty thick, so I filleted it into 3 pieces.

Chicken should be about this thick.

Today I doubled the recipe for a Hot Ones party.

Pound chicken lightly with a meat tenderizer. 
It's easy to shred the chicken, so be cafeful.

Cut each pounded fillet into smaller pieces

Chicken pieces soaking in the chicken broth.

Crackers should be pulverized almost into a powder.

Toss the chicken in a bowl.

Breaded pieces can be set aside until all are breaded before frying.

I liked frying in this wok today.

This is the best way to drain the oil--a wire rack over a pan.

Tender, delicious chicken nuggets.

Chicken Stew

Chicken Stew -- needing a better pic in some natural light

This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated Special Collector's Edition Cook It Right magazine. I bought it during an extra long planning period I had while subbing at a high school. If you've ever substitute taught high school, you may know the boredom that often accompanies the job. High school teachers very rarely leave actual teaching to the substitute since they never know what subject the sub's teaching license is in, if any. And although I respect each teacher's choice to give me a minimal amount of work to do, I have to say, it's hard to keep awake sometimes--especially if the book I've brought to read requires too much thought.
At any rate, I knew that a Cook's Illustrated magazine would be super interesting, but also allow me to pay attention to the students under my care.
Now onto the stew... I've never had a Cook's Illustrated recipe let me down, and this one didn't either. I must admit, my family enjoyed this stew much more than I did, so I will be tweaking it next time to get it just right. My husband is all for that because he really wants me to make this again.
It's a very rich stew with very meaty, savory, umami flavor. It's not too thick, and it's not soupy either. It hits the spot on a cold autumn evening, and it tasted perfect with some warm homemade French bread. 
So if you're looking for a stick-to-your-ribs chicken dish that is warm and comforting, this is it.

Chicken Stew
    --Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Special Collector's Edition Cook It Right

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts (or 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 pound chicken wings, halved at the joint
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 celery rib, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• 5 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons garlic chili paste/sauce
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 3 pieces
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (I used Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour)
• 1 pound red potatoes, washed and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into half-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place chicken breasts (or thighs) on a plate and lightly salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is somewhat browned. With a slotted spoon, scoop out the bacon and place in a heat-proof bowl. 
Add the chicken wings to the hot bacon fat in the Dutch oven and cook wings on both sides until well browned. When brown, move wings to the bowl to sit with the bacon.
Add onion, celery, garlic, and thyme to the Dutch oven. Stir until veggies are browned. 
Turn heat up to high and stir in 1 cup of broth, wine, soy sauce, and garlic chili paste. Stir and scrape bottom of pan to get up the browned veggies sticking to the bottom. Cook until liquid evaporates and the veggies begin to sizzle. 
Add butter and melt it. Sprinkle flour over the butter and veggies and stir to combine and cook the flour. 
Gradually whisk in 4 more cups of broth and whisk until smooth. 
Stir in the potatoes, carrots, wings, and bacon. Bring to a simmer. Transfer Dutch oven to preheated oven and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring once, halfway through cooking.
Remove the pot from the oven and stir, using the liquid to wet and scrape down the browned sides of the Dutch oven. 
Place Dutch oven over high heat.  Cut the chicken breasts/thighs into large chunks (about 4 chunks each for breasts and two chunks each for thighs). Stir and then return to oven to cook another 45 minutes or so, until the chicken breast/thigh meat is tender and easily shredded.
Remove the chicken wings and discard. Shred the chicken breasts/thighs into bite-size pieces. 
Taste and decide if you need to add any salt or pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Makes about 6 servings

Swiss Steak

Swiss Steak and Mashed Potatoes

Inexpensive steak + onions + time in the oven = one tasty meal. My mom used to make Swiss steak every so often, and even though I was a picky no-onion eater at the time, I still loved it. She really only used salt, pepper, and onions, but today I adapted Alton Brown's recipe from FoodNetwork.com. 
My husband enjoyed this meal so much he told me about three times what a great meal it was. He's usually complimentary, but not this complimentary. 
Besides tender beefiness, one of the beautiful things about this recipe is that it creates its own gravy as it cooks in the oven. The gravy is thick and beefy with lots of flavorful onions and celery cooked down to melt-in-your mouth excellence. I may have added a little too much salt to mine, but when it was paired with the mashed potatoes, the beef and gravy tasted perfectly seasoned. 
This may not be a super quick meal, but it is easy, delicious, and satisfying.

Swiss Steak
    --adapted from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beef bottom round steak (or 2 pounds lean stew meat works too)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 (approx) teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/3 cup flour (I used Better Batter Gluten Free AP Flour)
• 3-5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion or 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons beef base in 1 1/2 cups warm water)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the onions, celery and garlic. Set aside. 
Cut the steak into smaller steaks about 5-6 inches across. Place steak pieces on a cutting mat or surface you use for raw meat. Salt and pepper both sides and then using a meat tenderizing mallet pound each piece to about 1/2 an inch thickness. Be sure to pound on both sides of each piece of steak. Dredge each piece of steak on both sides in the flour.
Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. When oil is hot, carefully place steak into the pan taking care not to crowd. You will probably need to brown the steak in two batches, adding oil between batches. When each steak is browned on each side, move to a plate to wait. 
When all meat has been browned, add the onions, celery and garlic to the pan (Dutch oven). Stir veggies and cook just long enough until they start to wilt. Add paprika and oregano and stir. Pour in the beef broth and stir. Add the meat back into the Dutch oven, making sure you cover the meat with the veggies and liquid.
Place cover on Dutch oven and place in the oven. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is very tender. 
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Makes about 5-6 servings

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Super Easy Enchilada Sauce

Chile Colorado Burrito with homemade Easy Enchilada Sauce

So, the Chile Colorado Burrito recipe remains my top post, with over 2,000,000 page views. One of the main themes in the many comments I've received is about the fact that I use canned enchilada sauce. That's what I use, so that's what I posted--detractors have always been welcome to make their own sauce. I only write recipes as I do them. I have considered making a homemade enchilada sauce before, but I honestly just never felt like it.

Well, my hand has been forced, as I am starting to think about and prep recipes for this year's food competition at the Iowa State Fair. The Tone's spice company has a huge competition, and one of them is titled "Favorite Tones Everyday Family Recipe," and first prize is $2,000. So, obviously, now is the time to make a homemade sauce using Tone's spices. I had to use my favorite (non-Tone's) chile powder, though, because, well, it's my favorite, and nothing can compare.

So far the sauce is really delicious, and I have some stew meat cooking in my practice batch right now. (Pics to follow.) It really was extrememly easy to make, sooo...good news all you critics! I plan to make my own enchilada sauce from now on for my Chile Colorado Burritos. I'm still going to leave the recipe as-is in my blog post, though, since most people who like the recipe enjoy it for the ease. They throw it in the crock pot, go to work, and they have a fabulous hot meal at the end of the day. I'm not going to mess with that. 

Easy Enchilada Sauce

     --Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (I used Better Batter Gluten Free AP Flour)
• 1/2 cup New Mexico red chile powder (I like Bueno Special Reserve)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 3 cups water
• 3 teaspoons beef base (or 3 beef bullion cubes)
• 2 teaspoons honey (or sugar)

Instructions:

In a large heavy bottomed pot or in a Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the flour and chile powder. Stir, and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt. Then stir in the tomato sauce and water. Add the beef base and honey, and stir to incorporate. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Now the sauce is ready for you to use in any recipe calling for enchilada sauce.

Makes about 5 cups of sauce.

Recipe can be halved.

Grilled Balsamic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Balsamic Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes & grilled zucchini

This is the second time I've made this pork tenderloin, and I have to say, it's pretty darned tasty. It's slightly sweet from the balsamic vinegar, and the garlic and rosemary add enough other flavor to make it interesting. It's really nothing fancy or difficult, just an easy dinner. Of course, with a 4 to 24 hour marinade, you do need to plan ahead a little bit, but not much.
As with the Brined and Grilled Pork Chops I love so much, I served this with Au Gratin Potatoes--so nice together. The vegetable, as it usually is for me, was an afterthought. Grilled zucchini is good with just about any meal.
I wish I had something more exciting to say to you, but you're really just here for the recipe anyway, aren't you? So, enjoy it, and be sure to try it with the potatoes. You won't regret it--unless, of course, you are lactose intolerant.
More than enough said. I'm done.

Grilled Balsamic Marinated Pork Loin
     --adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt (orignial recipe did not call for salt, but 1 1/2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

Instructions:
Mix all the first six ingredients in a gallon size zip top bag and then add the meat. Place on a plate or in a glass baking dish and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.

When ready to grill, preheat grill to 450 degrees. Grill tenderloin at 400-450 degrees, turning every 5-6 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. While meat grills, you can bring the remaining marinade to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until liquid is reduced by about half and then skim off the excess oil. This sauce is optional, but it's nice to have some dipping sauce on the side if you want extra flavor.

Allow meat to rest for 10-15 minutes after you remove it from the grill. Then slice into 1/2 to 3/4-inch medallions and place on a serving plate.

Makes 6-7 servings

Tamales (Masa and All)

Finally, I'm taking the time to type out this recipe. We've been making tamales at Christmastime for about 9 or 10 years now, I think. I never did this in California, but once I moved to Iowa near a sister-in-law, it seemed the thing to do one Christmas, and it became a tradition. My sister-in-law dated mostly Latinos in high school, so she had actually participated in the Mexican tradition of holiday tamale making before. I, on the other hand, had only enjoyed restaurant tamales and the occasional one I'd get from an adult student or in Mexico when our church youth group was working down there.
At any rate, this past year, sister-in-law found out she is allergic to pork, so we had to forego the store bought masa because it contains lard, which is pork fat. This was a good thing though, because it forced me to face my masa fears and to just go for it and make my own. I googled "tamale masa recipe" and found the one you see below at FoodandWine.com. 
I was going into it blind, hoping for the best, and I have to say, I think I really prefer this fresh homemade masa over the store bought. The cooked masa is relatively light in texture, flavored just right, and compliments the meat nicely. It's just good masa--hard to explain if you've never eaten a tamale. 
So there you go. My reasons for making masa, and here you go with the entire recipe. Now go make some tamales.

Beef* Tamales
      --masa recipe from FoodandWine.com

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pound chuck roast
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

     Masa Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups instant corn masa flour
• 3 cups very hot water
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 4 tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup juice from the beef roast (fat and all) and/or chicken stock
• 60-70 dry corn husks

Special Equipment:

• large stock pot with a steaming basket or rack (or a special tamale pot available at most Mexican markets)
• spoons
• tongs
• friends to help assemble tamales

Instructions:

The day before or early in the morning of the day you plan to assemble the tamales, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place chuck roast in a roasting pan and sprinkle with chile powder, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast for about 3 hours, or until meat is pull-apart tender. Carefully pour pan juices through a strainer into a heat proof container (preferably a glass measuring cup). Set aside meat and juice and allow to cool.

When meat is cool, shred, discarding fat and gristle. Refrigerate until ready to use.

About 8-10 hours before you plan to assemble tamales, place corn husks in a large bowl or smallish plastic bin and cover with hot water. Allow to sit in water so that husks soften.

To make the masa... Place the masa flour in bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on low as you slowly pour in the very hot water. Mix on low until dough comes together and almost forms a cohesive ball (which it won't really do because you're mixing it). Add the shortening and butter and mix on low to incorporate. Increase speed to medium and slowly add the salt and baking powder. Beat on medium high for about two minutes. Reduce mixer speed, and slowly pour in the beef juice. Beat for another two minutes until dough is creamy and looks like a loose cookie dough (Picture 1 below). If it really seems too loose, you can add a little more masa flour (probably up to a quarter cup). Place dough in a gallon size zip top bag, or in a bowl. Cover/seal the dough and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to two days. If it's in the refrigerator for more than a couple of hours, remove from the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to assemble the tamales.

Now for the tamales... Drain a stack of husks and place in a bowl at your tamale assembly station. Place a husk on a plate or other surface with the narrow end on top. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of masa dough onto the husk and spread with the back of the spoon so that your margins are 1/2 to 1 inch on each side, 3 to 5 inches on top, and 0 to 1/4 inch on the bottom (see Picture 3 below). Place about 2 to 3 tablespoons of meat in the center as shown below (Picture 5). Now this next part is tricky. I think everyone does it differently, but here's what I do: turn the tamale a quarter turn so that the length of the husk is going left to right. Grab both sides and bring them together at the center, smooshing the masa from one side together with the masa from the other side. You should end up with about a 1/4 inch to 1 inch flap of corn husk that you just fold over. Take the narrow end and fold it up against the tamale (Picture 7). Tear a strip of husk from one that is too narrow to use for a tamale and use it to tie a little belt around the tamale to keep it compact (Picture 6). Stack up tamales as you go. When you think you have enough to fit inside the pot snugly, but without crowding and cramming, start cooking/steaming your first batch. 

To cook/steam tamales, place the steaming rack/basket in the bottom of your stock pot (tamale pot) and fill with water to just under the steaming rack/basket. You want as much water as possible, but you really don't want it touching the tamales directly. Place tamales in the pot, folded end down and open side up. Cover and place over high heat on the stove. Steam tamales for about 1 hour, adding a little water occasionally. Make sure the water does not go dry or else the bottom of your pot will burn and your tamales will pick up the burned flavor. Not good. While tamales steam, finish assembling the rest of the tamales. 

After about an hour of steaming, turn the heat off and remove one tamale. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. Gently open the husk up to see if it's cooked through. If the husk comes off easily, and there are no parts that look like the raw masa dough, they're done. Remove remaining tamales to a plate, bowl, cookie sheet, or something else, and either serve them or allow them to cool. Once cool and you're done eating all you want, seal leftover tamales in a zip top freezer bag and refrigerate or freeze. They will keep in the fridge for a few days, but if you know you won't be eating them within that time, go ahead and freeze them.

Makes about 50-60 tamales

To reheat frozen tamales, place in a steaming situation again (either the stock pot with the steaming rack or basket or a smaller version for fewer tamales). Steam for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. You can microwave them, but I don't recommend that method, as some parts of the tamale will over cook and get hard while other parts remain cool. 

If you're reheating them from the refrigerator, it's safer to microwave them: about 40-50 seconds on high for one tamale. Microwave ovens vary, though, so start off slow, and see how it goes. You can also steam them from the refrigerator too. About 10 minutes in the steamer should do it.

*You can use whatever filling you'd like in tamales. For one recipe of masa, you'll need about four cups of cooked filling.

Picture 1: Masa looking like cookie dough

Picture 2: Masa (lots of it) going to the fridge

Picture 3: masa spread on damp husk

Picture 4: the meat

Picture 5: meat on masa on husk--ready to close it up

Picture 6: uncooked tamales ready to be steamed

Picture 7: cooked tamale, ready for inspection