Tamales, a labor of love

Some of you might have heard that tamales are a Christmas tradition among Mexicans. Now I know why. They are a lot of work! But, they are super delicious and worth the effort! For Father's Day weekend my in-laws came into town and my husband's Aunt and cousin had come up from Mexico. We had a full house which always means lots of food and lots of love. My in-laws even brought my niece Leila. It was a party! Unfortunately, Wyatt was sick so he was sad most the time. It is so hard to see Wyatt sick and fussy because he is always so cheerful. Anyway, here are some pictures of the Tamale making process.

We made green chile and cheese tamales. Yum, so good!

You would typically buy this premade dough from a Mexican market. It's just cornmeal, lime, and water.

Because I have a mixer we did it the easy way. You would typically do this by hand. "I love technology..." Shout out to Napoleon Dynamite.

Then, to cook the tamales, you make a little cornhusk teepee in a pot so the tamales don't touch the bottom.

 Here is our table all set up for us to start putting everything together.

Once you assemble the tamales you stack them upright around the teepee. You do not want the tops of the tamales be submerged.

You then add more corn husks and form a cover. You pour about 2 quarts hot water around the edges and cover with a lid. We then cooked them for 2 hours. Oh, so delicious!

It took us about 5 hours from start to finish but the recipe made 50 tamales, so I will have plenty to freeze and eat later. Next time, I will make the pork with red sauce variety. I'm sure it will take me much longer doing it alone and that is exactly why tamales are a labor of love.