Tamales ~Homemade Authentic part 2 of 3

Now that our sauce is ready its time to get started on our fillings and get our corn husks soaking! I found that using a large baking pan works best for me.

Simply divide and cover with some hot water. I give them a flip every now and then to make sure they all soak well.
Now we can work on our fillings I personally enjoy the Beef best! Feel free to use Beef, Pork, or Chicken (boneless Skinless Breasts work best) Remember my recipe is bulk!

Large Beef Roast
Large Pork Roast
 8-10 Boneless Chicken Breasts (boiled up in some Chicken Stock then shredded)

2 Garlic Cloves (peeled and separated)

You can bake the roasts I like to cut slits in them and stuff with garlic. Bake until very tender or cook them up in a crock pot whichever is easiest for yourself. Then cool and shred. I find that my Kitchen Aid Mixer shreds meat so easily I cant believe I actually used to do it by hand! Separate into bowls and add lots of the Red Chile Sauce (see part1) Since this is my day 2 I like to leave a bunch of sauce at the top of each container before refrigerating til the next day as the meat really absorbs the sauce overnight.

Tamales ~ Homemade Authentic Part 1 of 3

So I have been meaning to Blog this recipe for quite some time now. It is a little more lengthy than the usual recipes but oh so worth it. You can do them alone (I do) I suggest if you are doing this alone split it into a few day process if making a few hundred! (they freeze quite well) Or assemble a team to help. With Easter approaching soon this is a great addition to the festivities! I like to have a little stock in the freezer just for a nice weekend brunch or an easy freezer meal. Any way it goes I hope you all enjoy the recipe!

OK so where do we start? I will give you my own recipe and give you some tips on what works easiest for myself. I do this as a solo project and usually spread the work out to a 3 day process. I know its gonna get done right and there is no pressure. One of my #1 tips is planning I always know when I am going to make them so I have a little habit of freezing the leftover meat from roasts in freezer containers so on day 1 I remove all containers filled with my pre cooked roasts from the freezer and start defrosting as I start with my red sauce. I have been making these for a few years now and by freezing those roasts I save so much time and extra $ and end up with enough tamales to share with all my friends. If you are planning this as a next week meal obviously you will need to cook a roast and shred the meat. I use pork, beef, chicken, and then also do a cheese and chile with jalapeno.

So lets start with our sauce. This sauce can be frozen in a container for future use so I am giving you my big batch recipe!
1 Bag each of dried Ancho and Dried Pasillo Chiles (stemmed, seeded, and vein removed wear gloves while doing this)

2 Cloves of garlic

2 Tsps of Cumin
1 Large Onion

Place all your cleaned Chiles in a large pot. Pour a few cups of hot water over the top. Add in your g
Garlic, Cumin, Onion. Bring to boil then simmer for an hour or so. Let cool and strain. Leaving the juice to the side. Now you can use a Blender or Food Processor to make a paste fill with peppers and onions and a cup or so of liqued and blend together forming a nice semi thick paste. Repeat with all remaining Chiles. I simply add to one big bowl as I go. It should come out looking somewhat like this

Blue Jean Foodie Queen: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Wings

Blue Jean Foodie Queen: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Wings:   This recipe was so easy and turned out much better than I actually thought it would. It would be great for parties or any day of the week....

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Wings

  This recipe was so easy and turned out much better than I actually thought it would. It would be great for parties or any day of the week. My kids who are very picky eaters were enticed by the smell to try it and to everyones surprise they loved it!
Chicken Wings

1/2 -1 bottle of BBQ Sauce

Poultry Seasoning

Soy Sauce

Pepper

 I can bet if you covered the wings in hot sauce before the BBQ sauce it would spice up the recipe for adults who like the heat. Next time I make these I am going to try that!

Super simple I simply put the wings in the crock pot added few dashes of soy sauce and sprinkled with the Poultry Seasoning and some Pepper. Then poured the BBQ sauce over the top of the wings. I mistakenly turned the crock pot on a high setting and noticed they were cooking up pretty fast. So if you are in a hurry I would suggest a high setting for about 3 or so hours depending on your crock pot and if you have the day slow cook them at a lower temp for about 6hrs. 

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

I do not know when the events of last Friday, December 14th, 2012, will leave my mind.  If they ever will...  All I know is that children should never have to fear anything of that magnitude.  How are you to ever tell your children there are no monsters when clearly there are in this world? How do you explain their little questions, full of innocence and the black and white world of children?

For the first time since I came of age, I was glad not to be a parent yet on Friday... I feared answering those questions.  Questions I have seen on Facebook from their children like "Why didn't Jesus save them? That wasn't nice of Him" or "Where was Santa? Doesn't he like children? He has helpers everywhere..."  or the simple "Why didn't the police stop the bad man?"

Perhaps the world is to really end on Friday the 21st... what have we to show for it? What arguments could we make?  The only things that make the news anymore are bloody, violent, and pure evil.  I do not truly believe the world is meant to end... My calendar ends every year and I do not freak out... but my point is where is the good news? When will we learn? When will we learn that guns and mental illness need some serious rethinking and work in this country and around the world.  Norway has had problems too... in recent years... violence and the criminal mind is not limited to just America.  I just worry we stigmatize mental illness so much and hold guns so dear.  According to ABC news, there are more gun stores in the United States than there are McDonald's restaurants.  To me that is insane.

The second amendment to which so many cling to so dearly was written in a time and place vastly different than our own.  One where men were meant to defend themselves from a vulnerable position as a fledgling nation, provide for their families, and certainly a place where the accuracy of weapons, particularly handguns or pistols was not that great.  If the strictest of proponents want to own muskets and muzzle-loaders then great have at it.  The founding fathers could never have fathomed this sort of think... much less automatic weapons, assault rifles, sniper rifles, extend clips with quick release and reload.... on goes the list.  These were and would have been fairy tale type weapons and likely considered widely unnecessary...  Why on earth would they have needed a gun that could cut down trees?  What kind of people have we become to hold so dearly to such a antiquated, misunderstood, and taken vastly out of context law?

As a writer I believe in freedom of speech; the good come with the bad.  I can close my ears to what I do not want to hear.  I believe the quote goes "I may not agree with what you say but I will fight to the death for your right to say it."  I cannot apply this same sort of logic to the second amendment. So I ask you dear Belles, many of you I know grew up hunting and around guns, I did too... When will we learn? How many more Columbine's or now "Sandy Hooks" must there be before we realize the truth sitting in front of our face?  How many more benchmark events of tragic, unnecessary death and violence must we have before our eyes are opened?  A gun is meant for nothing more than to destroy living tissue.  That is what my Daddee always taught us kids.  As an object it is just a paperweight; when wielded by man it is a killing machine. That is the lesson we were given from the smallest memories.  My father eventually got rid of all weapons in the house, even my grandaddy's shotgun,  he no longer saw the need.  Especially with all the violence around us all the time.  So how much longer will we as a nation "sleep"?  How many more children is this nation willing to use as currency to pay for this amendment, this antique right?  How long must my heart and the hearts of so many be broken?

God bless y'all.... Happy Christmas.  And please no matter your opinions, think about what I have said.  Just give it a minute or two and think.

~a

PS: this video is so moving until the scream at the end.... highly unnecessary in my opinion but I warn you it is there.

Blue Jean Foodie Queen: Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs

Blue Jean Foodie Queen: Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs: This is a recipe shared by one of our readers Trish Thorsky! I have yet to try it but it looks delicious! Ingredients For the meatball...

Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs

This is a recipe shared by one of our readers Trish Thorsky! I have yet to try it but it looks delicious!

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound lean ground pork
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
• Vegetable oil, for brushing

For the gravy:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• Lingonberry jam, for serving (optional)

Directions

Make the meatballs: Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste; let cool. Add the beef, pork, egg and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined.

Brush a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Roll the meat into 1-inch balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a serving dish; sprinkle with the parsley and serve with lingonberry jam, if desired