Tamale Bites

October 18, 2010

Time, my ultimate love-language.

Some women want gifts or sweet talk. Those things are nice, but all I really crave is ample time with the people I love.

Time is what I consider my greatest asset. I give it freely to loved ones, and become stingy when it’s under attack. If someone isn’t valuing my time, WASTING my time even…it makes me crabby! Just being honest.

To only spend time on VALUABLE efforts is the goal. “Just Say NO” is a real challenge, isn’t it? Sometimes I feel like the bad guy saying no, but you have to protect your assets.

Faith, Family, Friends, Volunteering, Workouts, Cooking/Blogging, these things envelop my time. If something doesn’t fit under these parameters, I shove it with brute force it usually falls to the wayside. If something fits under these parameters and is “busy work” (meaning I think it’s a waste of time) it STILL usually falls to the wayside. *smile* What do you think, difficult or charmingly efficient?

This recipe is a time saver on TWO levels, do you know how excited that makes a person like me???

One, if you were going to make traditional tamales, this recipe cuts the time in half! The prep work is much quicker and so is the cooking time.

Two, this recipe starts with cooked shredded meat. That means, LEFTOVERS from another meal–such as a beef roast, pulled pork, grilled chicken, even take-out! So when you prepare one meal during the week, you are actually getting a head-start on the appetizers for your weekend gathering! Isn’t that EXCITING!?!

Truly, I’m bouncing in my seat over this!

For further appeal, these cute little tamale bites are slightly spicy, hearty, and perfect for cool weather. I recently took them to an event and they disappeared in no time!

This is another recipe that may very well end up at our Halloween Party this year–allowing me more time to decorate monster cookies with my babies. Yay!

Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely. ~Kay Lyons

To make Tamale Bites:

Heat a skillet over medium–high heat. Add the shredded meat, and following seven ingredients. Stir well and add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer. Simmer until all the liquid in rendered out–approximately 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, Mix 2 cups of masa with the baking powder, salt and cumin. Add the beef stock and mix to a crumbly consistency. Pour in the melted shortening and mix by hand until smooth.

Spray your mini-muffin tins with non-stick spray. Roll the masa mixture into small balls—about 2 tsp. each. Place one ball in each muffin cup and press with your fingers—or the back of a rounded measuring spoon—to make little shells.

Once the beef mixture has rendered out the liquid, stir in the sour cream and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Fill each masa shell with beef mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Allow the tamale bites to cool 3-5 minutes before extracting them from the muffin tins. Use a small sharp knife to lift one side, then gently lift them out with your fingers.

Garnish with crumbled queso fresco and thyme leaves. Serve warm!

Makes 40-48—depending on you mini muffin tins!

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Yield: 40-48 bites

Tamale Bites

Ingredients:

2 cups masa (corn flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/3 cups beef stock
2/3 cup vegetable shortening, melted
1 lb. cooked shredded beef (or pork or chicken)
2 tsp. masa
1 Tb. tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 Tb. fresh thyme leaves, + extra for garnish
1-2 canned chipotle pepper, chopped
¼ cup sour cream (optional)
1 Tb. fresh lime juice
Water
Salt and pepper
Crumbled Queso Fresco to garnish

Directions: