Holy Tamale!

I got this brilliant idea this year that I could make tamales for everyone in the family for Christmas. I mean, how hard can it be, right? Well, actually not hard at all! But very very very very time consuming and it is also helpful to have lots of sets of hands around too! Let me just say that we started this morning at 10:00 AM and I am still here tonight at 7:30 steaming away. I've got about 100 more tamales to steam! Well, not really 100 but it feels like it! It might be a long night! And, if this didn't work out like I had planned, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the boys and I would have had to hit the mall to buy gifts for the family! We might hit the mall anyway just for fun! But back to today; my Mom, Cammie, and Grandma came over to tackle the job with me. We had the best time! Making tamales is so much fun! I was a little nervous because I am giving these away as gifts and I have never made them so who knows if they will even taste good! The taste test verdict came in and they are delicious! Not too spicy, not too bland! The recipe is a keeper! Yay! We only had a few minor glitches along the way that I won't even mention! We learned a few tricks for next time! I feel so lucky that my Mom, Grandma and sister were all able and willing to come over and let me put them to work! Can't wait for next time!





Tanner and Carter helping us make tamales! They were so good! Tanner did want to help us use the mixer a few times but for the most part, they just played great together! And they each ate a tamale a little later on in the evening too!


Not really sure what is going on here, but if Daddy saw this, he might be a little upset!


Mom cutting the California Chili Peppers apart and making sure no seeds are left! Seeds make things too spicy!


The shredded pork which I had cooked the day before, luckily!


Soaking the peppers! They have such a beautiful color to them!


Me stirring the meat and sauce together!


Mom and Cammie cooking away!


Cammie and Mom tasting the product! A little quality control as we like to call it!


Grandma, Mom, and Cammie wrapping away!


Grandma and I wrapping tamales! Grandma even decided that she should make little bows on the bottoms of each of them to hold the tails in. That was a little more than Cammie and I were able to do, but Grandma and Mom made cute little bows on the bottoms of each tamale! So clever!


Wrapping away!


This is a tamale right before we wrap it all up and put it in the steamer!


The steamer!


Tamales in the steamer!


Back to more wrapping.....I'm not really sure how many we made. I haven't counted. The recipe made 50 and I doubled it but for some reason it feels like a whole lot more than 100!


The finished product!