October 17, 2010

Time and Tamales


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!

Sommer

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


Tamale Bites

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


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!

 
ADD YOUR BEST FALL PARTY RECIPE!


Tamale Nibbles on Foodista

75 comments:

  1. Definitely charmingly efficient! I love it when I can make something out of leftovers, and these look perfect and delicious, Sommer. I completely agree about time - I absolutely love finding time saving tricks that still give amazing results. ( : XO

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  2. "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."

    Fantastic quote! Time is our greatest commodity and is not to be wasted. I completely agree! I get a lot crammed into one day by being efficient. :)

    Thank you for your logo feedback! :)
    Andrea

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  3. These are precious. Time is well spent eating these!

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  4. they look like perfect party food and your right time is so precious

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  5. Great quote! Love the party idea as well :)

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  6. Could these look any more appetizing? I think not! You are so skilled with your camera...and of course in the kitchen! I'm consistently impressed. I want one of these little guys right now. Thank you so much for your kind words on my blog...they are so appreciated during this difficult time.

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  7. Oh yep...these would make a great party food! The queso fresco atop has brightened up these beauties.
    Angie

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  8. What a time saver. Fantastic. I have thought about making my own tamales. We could buy them at the farmers market until two weeks ago, but now we are almost out. Thanks, Summer.

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  9. That really looks great ! Invite me to your party !
    Like you, I will take the time if that's worth it, I don't mind doing a bread over 4 days (not full time, it's more about planning), but if I can do something quicker, I don't hesitate.

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  10. These look delicious, I love tamales but when done like this its definitely more accessible. I just found corn flour here in France this weekend so will definitely give this a try.

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  11. I love these! They look delicious and so adorable. I totally agree about how precious time is. There never seem to be enough hours in the day. This post was time well spent. Thank you for that.

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  12. Hi Sommer- these look son darn good I want one now for breakfast! Time does fly by so quickly. This is fantastic b/c it is all homemade and quick.:)

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  13. i'VE got a bag of masa and have been wanting to make tamales for some time - but i'm afraid they won't turnout - thank you so much for suggesting this idea - tamale cups - wow- genius... i like it! you rock!!

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  14. really innovative and great dish- love it!

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  15. Cute little bites - I'd help them disappear quickly! I also love the quote about time - so true!

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  16. Oh wow Sommer...that is so clever. We absolutely adore tamales but I never seem to find the time to make them the traditional way. This is awesome! Thanks for posting the recipe.

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  17. Que LINDO, Sommer! These are so beautiful and sound absolutely delicious!

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  18. I agree with you... There aren't enough hours in the day!
    wow! i LOVE tamales, but have never made them myself... These look so delicious!

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  19. these are a great appetizer for the party season that is coming up fast! Great idea that I'll definitely have to use...Theresa

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  20. I love your "time philosophy" and it sounds like a great way to weed out time wasters :o)
    Your recipe is simply awesome, my husband loves tamales but I don't care much for them since a lot of times the ratio of masa to meat is off. These little bites look like the perfect solution to this dilemma! Brilliant :o)

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  21. These little tamale bites are a truly genius idea! I really like this recipe and am so jelous of everyone who gets to go to your Halloween party! I agree with you about time. There is definitely not enough of it in a day!

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  22. This is such a great way to use leftovers. And they are very elegant and impressive.

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  23. I love tamales but often there is just too much masa. These are perfect!

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  24. These are so creative...love the idea :) Most defiantly charmingly efficient!
    I will try to come with something to enter for you, can it be a former post?

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  25. Great advice. Good looking food. Gorgeous photos!

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  26. hey lovely thoughts about TIME !very nice pics and recipe!

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  27. These look great for a cocktail party. Problen is I would eat them before the party starts.

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  28. Very creative Sommer! I love the look of these and I already know that they are going to be perfectly delicious!

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  29. The first time I had tamales, I was at a wedding and forgot exactly what they were and bit into it -- leaf wrapper and all. It cracked up my friends the bride and groom. Yours looks delicious, and possibly more my speed. ;)

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  30. Hey came to follow but don't see the box. Hmmm. Check out my blog when you get a sec. I usually write sarcastic stories about my everyday mom life but every so often I also feature people and places that are inspiring, neat, and relevant to life.

    Carrie
    the5thgirl.com

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  31. Having made tamales before, I am curious as to the baking process. It takes a long time to steam tamales. I love this idea but is the masa done enough in baking it for a relatively short time? Does it get tough? Is it similar to a tamale in texture? It really is a ingenious idea if the masa texture is good because we all like more filling than the average tamale provides!

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  32. This is a great way to use up leftover meat and I love anything made with masa. I'll definitly have to use this clever idea. I appreciate your step-by-step photos, too.

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  33. Wonderful!!! Love the idea. Bookmarked!!

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  34. Oh wow! These are awesome! My husband will die for these tamale bites - which kills two birds with one stone - yummy cooking and time with him! And maybe some friends too- I love good party food. I agree... it's always tough to make enough time!

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  35. Great pictures and lovely little bites! Definitely saving it.

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  36. This is a winner Sommer - perfect nibbles for a fall eve.

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  37. Fantastic! I love tamales, what a creative way to make them!

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  38. this looks so appetizing:) i love the bite size version of tamales.. yum! thank you for sharing this.

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  39. I am the same way with my time. I give mine freely and willingly to family and friends but tend to withdraw it from people who aren't respectful of my efforts. It's nice to feel appreciated!

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  40. What a fabulous recipe! I love that they're just little bite size portions..

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  41. Great post, thanks for sharing this :0

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  42. Terrific idea I am about to make tamales. I must try this. I posted quesadillas last week, used the same brand as you I see from the photo.
    LL

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  43. Those tamale tartlets look so good! What a great idea.

    Time is precious so that is a wonderful and generous gift.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  44. Hey Sommer, time is a mystical thing (smile). Sometimes it goes so fast and sometimes so slow. Either way, I'm inefficient, so I can't get grumpy about it;-)
    These tamales are beautiful by the way. I have a feeling I would eat a lot of them if they were in front of me!

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  45. Dianna~

    I've made these a couple times...
    The first time, I placed a large pan of water on the rack below. The masa cups came out very moist and very similar to the texture of real tamales. The only problem was that they were hard to extract from the muffin tins without damaging the cup. The second time I tried it without the pan of water. The texture of the masa was definitely different from traditional tamales, but much easier to handle. I preferred the second batch. The flavor was on, even if the texture was a bit different!

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  46. I think those would be perfect for a party. Hearty, but easy to handle. Oh yeah....

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  47. I saw the chipotles in adobo and fell in love. They are SO good. I heap them on forgetting how hot they really are! Looks fantastic.

    FYI, there's an award for you on my site. Hope you'll pick it up. I think you're awesome.

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  48. I'm stealing this idea. lol I like the tamale cup idea. I do plantian cups every once in awhile for ceviche. Good job!

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  49. An excellent post! My neighbor is having a fairly large Halloween party as well and these just night be the perfect treat! Thank you so much!

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  50. ooh la la... I love these budles... I am saving this for my next fiesta.

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  51. These are adorable and look so darn tasty! They'd make fabulous appetizers for a party I plan on throwing soon (as soon as I unpack my mini muffin pans) :) Congrats on Top 9! :)

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  52. Great idea. They look so good.

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  53. great article, just stumbled onto this blog and looks good so far
    the-food-place

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  54. Perfect for a party Sommer! Excellent for the season and I love the quote and your perfect answer via these tamale bites!

    Ciao, Devaki 2 weavethousandflavors

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  55. These are perfect party fare, very creative, full of good flavors and great looking. I'm planning my Halloween feast as well, thanks for sharing;)

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  56. Sommer, I love this and how easy it is to make! Full of flavors, I'm sure they were a hit. I hear you on the time. It's precious.

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  57. Mmmm... tamales are a family tradition for me. What a great take on the classic! Love that they can be made fast and are good for serving at parties!

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  58. This looks like lots of fun! I´m mexican and have never seen a "tamal" like this.

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  59. I was thinking about these today and thought what a great basic idea this is to work with to update the party quiche thing. You could probably convert the idea easily to vegetarian too with a savory sweet potato filling or even a soft cheese and roasted chili mixture.

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  60. I agree, time is a precious commodity that I certainly could use more of.

    What delicious little tamale bites...and so much easier than making the old fashioned kind!

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  61. Charmingly efficient I think ;) These are smart and they have to be yummy! Thanks for a great idea - I will have this in mind, next time I'm staring at roast leftovers...

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  62. I learned a good lesson about how long tamales take earlier this year. They are worth it, but you really do HAVE TO HAVE THE TIME!!!

    This twist makes sense and should work well for holiday entertaining.

    Jason

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  63. They look beautiful. What a great appetizer for a Mexican themed party. I love those canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I dunk my tortilla chips in that leftover sauce. MMMMMMMMM

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  64. I LOVE this idea...the time-saving aspect, the presentation, the flavors and spice...perfect! These little tamales are a big winner!

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  65. oh dear..what a time saver...my mom would adore this as she works her tail off each year making tamales...me, I make small batches...lol great time saver, I agree time...is always my downfall..

    sweetlife

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  66. I have to tell you as a Mexican girl who also feels like there is never enough time this tamalitos look perfect! When I make tamales it is usually a 2 or even 3 day process for me alone to make them. But I always say that the effort is so worth it. With your recipe and technique I could still have the same taste presented cuter and prepared in a lot less time. This is such a brilliant idea!
    THanks for posting a YBR badge and for joining us. I do hope to see you on next month's YBR as well. Have a great week.

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  67. These look amazing! I love Mexican food but hate the fatty recipes. I could totally chow down on a few of these. Bookmarking it!

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  68. What a wonderful idea and recipe. Beautiful photos. I hope you have an extra bedroom, because I'm coming to live with you. I'll even do dishes. :-)

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I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for taking the time. If you have a question, I'll get back to you ASAP!