Beef Tamales with Red Chili Sauce

Filling:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound beef stew meat
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried red New Mexico chili
16 large dried cornhusks

Dough:
3 cups masa harina
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 cup water

Remaining ingredients:
16 long thin strips dried cornhusk
1 cup Red Chili Sauce (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare filling, heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beef; sauté 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Stir in 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring mixture to a boil. Cover and bake 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.

Transfer beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour drippings into a glass measure. Add enough water to drippings to equal 1 cup. Wipe pan with paper towels.

Shred beef into bite-sized pieces. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Return beef to pan; sprinkle with flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in ground chili; stir in drippings mixture. Reduce heat, and cook 7 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring often. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

Place whole cornhusks in a large bowl; cover with water. Weight husks down with a can; soak 30 minutes. Drain husks.

To prepare dough, combine masa and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add butter and oil; stir well. Add broth and 1 cup water; stir until a soft dough forms.

Working with one husk at a time, place about 1/4 cup masa dough in the center of the husk; press dough into a 4 x 3-inch rectangle. Spoon about 2 tablespoons beef mixture down one side of the dough. Using the corn husk as your guide, roll tamale up, jelly-roll style; fold bottom ends of the husk under. Tie 1 corn husk strip around tamale to secure; stand upright in a vegetable steamer. Repeat procedure with the remaining whole corn husks, masa dough, beef mixture, and corn husk strips. Steam tamales, covered, 50 minutes, or until the dough is firm. Remove tamales from vegetable steamer; let stand 5 minutes. Serve with Red Chili Sauce, if desired.

Freezer preparation:

Once tamales are steamed and cooled, wrap individually in celophane and freeze in freezer bag. To warm, place, standing up, in steamer and steam until warm (make sure to check steamer periodically to make sure water has not cooked out).


Serves 8, two tamales each

Nutritional Information

Calories: 145 (27% from fat)
Fat: 4.3g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 7.9g
Carbohydrate: 19.9g
Fiber: 2.2g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Iron: 1.4mg
Sodium: 268mg
Calcium: 49mg

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

Red Chili Sauce

Makes 4 1/2 cups...scale back ingredients if making one batch of tamales.

15 large dried chilies (such as Anaheim, New Mexico, California, or pasilla...I used New Mexican Chilies)
4-5 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil or melted shortening
1/2 cup salsa, pureed

1. Remove stems and seeds from dried chili peppers.
2. Place peppers in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Roast in 350°F oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until you smell a sweet roasted aroma, checking often to avoid burning.
4. Remove from oven and soak in enough hot water to cover for about 30 minutes or until cool.
5. Put peppers and 2 1/2 cups of the soaking water into a blender (save the remaining soaking water).
6. Add garlic, cumin and salt.
7. Cover and blend until smooth.
8. In a 2-quart sauce pan, stir flour into oil or melted shortening over med heat until browned.
9. Carefully stir in blended chili mixture.
10. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If sauce gets too thick, stir in up to 1 cup of the remaining soaking water until you reach the desired thickness)
11. Stir in salsa puree.

Note: When working with chilies, use rubber gloves to protect your skin, and avoid contact with your eyes. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water to remove all of the chili oils.

Pork Cassoulet

1 lb dried Great Northern Beans or 5-6 canned beans

2 bacon slices

3 lbs boneless pork loin, cut into 1" cubes

1 lb turkey Kielbasa, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup sliced carrots (1/4")

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp thyme

1/4 cup water

2 tbls tomato paste

1 can chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup sliced red bell pepper

1 1/2 cups coarse French bread crumbs (can omit if desired)

1/3 cup Parmesan

Sort and wash beans. Cover with water in Dutch oven 2" above beans. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and return to pan. Cover with water again and bring to boil; reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes, drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Brown bacon over medium heat until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon. Increase heat to medium-high and add pork, cook 5 minutes until browned. Remove with slotted spoon. Add kielbasa and cook 5 minutes until browned. Remove with slotted spoon. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and thyme; saute 4 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water, tomato paste, broth, and tomatoes. Return beans, bacon (torn into pieces), pork, and kielbasa; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, transfer to 9x13 baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and scoop out 1 cup of beans & vegetable mixture with slotted spoon. Process until smooth. Return to baking dish and stir. Stir in wine, salt, and pepper. Arrange bell peppers over top. Combine bread crumbs and cheese. Sprinkle on top of bell peppers. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

To freeze: Prepare entire recipe according to directions. Cool. Cover, seal, and freeze.

To Serve: Thaw 24-48 hours. Preheat oven to 350 and heat until hot.

Shepard's Pie

1 (22 oz) pkg frozen mashed potatoes (can make fresh if desired)

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 can carrots, drained

1 can green beans, drained

2 tbls flour

2 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp pepper, divided

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley (opt)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook potatoes according to package directions, set aside. Brown beef and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat until done; drain and return to skillet. Add carrots, flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and broth. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon mixture into lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish. Prepare potatoes according to package directions if using frozen; or prepare fresh potatoes as usual. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Spoon potatoes over beef mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 more minutes. Garnish if desired.

To Freeze: Have frozen potatoes on hand or prepare fresh mashed the day of serving. Prepare beef mixture up the baking portion, but do not bake. Cool beef mixture and spoon into gallon size baggie; Seal, removing all air, and freeze. Package shredded cheese in quart size baggie and include package with potatoes and beef mixture.

To Serve: Thaw beef mixture 24 hours before baking. Have potatoes on hand, but do not thaw ahead of time if using frozen. Pour beef mixture into baking dish and top with potatoes as directed. Bake and add cheese as directed.

Butter-Lemon Basted Chicken

6 chicken breasts

1/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp salt (original recipe called for 2tsp)

1 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp summer savory

1/2-1 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp sugar

Brush the chicken on all sides with lemon juice and place in a covered dish and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. (At this point I put it in a freezer bag and froze it). At this point if it is frozen you must thaw overnight in refrigerator along with the butter mixture. Preheat the broiler. In a 1-quart saucepan melt butter and stir in all seasonings except the sugar. Place the chicken in a broiler pan. Baste with butter mixture occasionally throughout the broiling. Broil 6"-8" from heat for 20 -25 minutes. Turn and broil 15-20 more until tender. Be careful if you have thin breasts as this can be to much time. If desired sprinkle sugar over chicken and broil for 3 minutes more.

You may also grill the chicken brushing with the butter mixture for 45 minutes until deep golden brown.