Chicken Tamales with Pictures!

We love tamales, especially my oldest daughter. I often serve these at parties or get-togethers but I have to warn people not to eat the husks! The yumminess is wrapped in the husk and just needs to be uncovered. I don’t make them very often as it is a bit of a process but the reward is delicious. It seems no matter if I double, or triple, the recipe I never have enough!

There are many ways to make them and I am not an expert. (This is my easy version of tamales.) I will attempt to take some pictures to add to this post to help with making them and the assembly of them. The kids love to help with this and it is so much fun to put them together. This is one of those things when practice makes perfect so don’t give up and just have fun!

You can also use other meats besides chicken. Just make sure the meat is cooked first and then season it to your taste. There are also recipes for sweet versions as well but I have not tried to make any of those.

One important thing to note is that Masa Harina and cornmeal are not the same thing! This will not work with cornmeal. The husks and masa are generally found the ethnic aisle of the grocery store.

See the end of the post for a picture. Continue reading “Chicken Tamales with Pictures!”

January 7, 2017

Well today has been a day. Oh, what a day!

Full of tons of excitement as the boys have been pretending to be super heroes for the past two days. Which means that they have been dragging blankets around, tucked into the back of their shirts, everywhere they go. They eat with their capes, their sleep with their capes (using them as blankets), and they play with their capes.

Jacob has been getting up super early and this morning was no exception. He wanted peanut butter apples first thing this morning.

For breakfast we had Dutch Puff with applesauce. Joey has decided this is his new favorite food and has requested it for his birthday dinner next week. Not so sure that is going to happen but we’ll see.


The kids saw the how windy it was and decided that today would be a good day to fly a kite. Well, it’s cold and rainy so we agreed that we would wait for another day and then one of them suggested we should have a ‘kite day’ in March. So I will try to put that on the calendar for then.

The kids were cleaning up the playroom and I was fixing them some lunch when Joey asked me if his sister was still coming today. He says, ‘Remember Momma, she wants some mollies’. I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about until I glanced at the calendar, which I should’ve looked at this morning, and saw that I was supposed to make tamales!


This threw me into a bit of panic mode but everything was OK. (Yes, those are bananas in my mixer bowl. I have been buying more fruit and just use the bowl to store the extras when I am not using the mixer.)

So I scurried around a few minutes and got everything together and set to work putting together the tamales. The kids were down for naps so they didn’t get to help me this time around.

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After putting together a big plate of tamales it was time to cook them.

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While they were cooking I cleaned up a bit and snacked on some of the leftover chicken and salsa mixture.


Then I got to work on the Hot Fudge Sundae Cake for dessert. All the while Joey, who was supposed to be napping, kept coming up with ideas for his upcoming birthday. He wants an ‘Indominus Rex’  cake. Hmmmm…. not so sure that I can pull that off but we’ll see.

I finished up dinner around 5:00. We had yellow rice and black beans to complete the meal. Everything tasted so good!

It always amazes me how I can spend hours making a meal and then they can scarf it down in a matter of minutes!

We had a good visit with my oldest daughter. The kids watched ‘The Good Dinosaur’ and had lots of fun. 

Then bedtime came around and Jacob was crying for his ‘friend’. His new friend is ‘Silly Raptor’. (I think this is an imaginary friend.) We finally got him settled in bed with the promise that we would try to find her in the morning. 

I am headed to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is another day and another start but I know I’ll need as much energy as I can get. 

 

Dutch Puff

Dutch Puff

Dutch Puff

(This is one of those recipes that I really don’t remember where I got it from.)

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 c. milk
  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 t. salt. optional
  • 1 T. vanilla, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Put the stick of butter in a 9×13 pan or a 12-inch castiron skillet and place it in the oven to melt while you prepare the puff.

Beat eggs, milk, flour, and salt until smooth and then another minute more, stir in the vanilla.

Remove pan from the oven and pour the mixture into the melted butter.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.

When you get the puff out of the oven it will be golden and puffed, lovely.

Serve immediately. If you wait it will deflate.

Top with molasses, honey, fresh fruit, confectioners sugar or maple syrup. Maybe even try it with Blueberry Syrup or one of the homemade fruit pie fillings found HERE.

For a special change try making individual servings of dutch puff in oven-safe ramekins. Again this is fun for the company. You can prepare ahead of time and then pop them in the oven as each person wakes.

For Sourdough Dutch Puff:

decrease the milk to 1/3 c. and use 2 c. sourdough starter in place of the flour.


kids learn to cook


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January 8-14, 2017 Meal Plan

This is our basic meal plan for the week. Sometimes we will switch the days around if I forgot to set something out or put something in the crock pot. Please feel free to use this or change it around to suit your family’s needs.

I do have ‘Snacks/Desserts’ listed as well. I always try to keep a bowl of fresh fruit out on the counter or table for the kids to snack on. Sometimes I will make a special snack or treat for us to enjoy.

Sunday

Breakfast:

Pancake Poppers, applesauce

Lunch:

PB & J sandwiches, fresh fruit

Dinner:

Meatball Sandwich Casserole, French Fries, Salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Peanut Butter Crackers


Monday

Breakfast:

Cereal/Oatmeal

Lunch:

Leftovers

Dinner:

Chicken in a Biscuit, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies

Snacks/Desserts:

Cinnamon Toast


Tuesday

Breakfast:

French Toast

Lunch:

hot dogs, mac n cheese

Dinner:

Pintos, Hoe Cakes, greens

Snacks/Desserts:

Rice Pudding


Wednesday

Breakfast:

Muffins

Lunch:

Egg Salad Sandwiches, veggies

Dinner:

Easy Bean Tostadas, rice, salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Muffins


Thursday

Breakfast:

Pancakes

Lunch:

PB&J, fruit

Dinner:

Taco Ring, salad

Snacks/Desserts:

Fruit


Friday

Breakfast:

Cereal/Oatmeal

Lunch:

Scrambled Egg Sandwiches, fresh veggies w/ranch

Dinner:

Fix It and Forget It Crockpot Chicken, 30 minute rolls

Snacks/Desserts:

Popcorn


Saturday

Breakfast:

Monkey Bread, Eggs & Grits

Lunch:

Leftovers

Dinner:

Tomato Gravy7up Biscuits, Scrambled Eggs

Snacks/Desserts:

Peanut Butter Bites

Poppy Seed Chicken

This is a recipe from the Real Mom Kitchen Cook Book although we have made some slight alterations to it, This is so easy to make and everyone really loves it. I normally double the recipe for my family and we rarely have leftovers! We usually eat it over a bed of rice with a side of green beans. Continue reading “Poppy Seed Chicken”