Wednesday Dinner

Chicken Tamales

I've never made any sort of tamales before, but after finding this recipe in Food Network Magazine a few months ago, I decided to give them a try. (You should also go to the site to see a much more appetizing photo of them. I've said it before - I'm no food photographer, y'all.)

According to the article, they're a little more Caribbean than Mexican, which might be why this particular recipe sparked my interest. The traditional Mexican types never inspired me to make them myself. Check out the actual recipe for amounts and techniques, but the basic ingredients were 1 rotisserie chicken (meat separated from skin and bones and shredded), green salsa, cilantro, frozen peas, pimento-stuffed green olives, shredded cheese, and self-rising cornmeal, all wrapped up in corn husks and steamed.

The verdict: tasty, but a little dry. Next time, I'll have more green salsa to serve on the side (I used the entire jar in the recipe, so next time I'll buy 2). I might also use less cornmeal. Also, too time-consuming, what with getting all that meat off the chicken carcass. Next time I'll either boil & shred some boneless chicken breasts, or start with canned chicken.

The filling was delicious on its own before adding the cornmeal, so I might make that again to fill tacos.

Totals:

$4 - rotisserie chicken
$1 - 1/2 package shredded cheese
$2.50 - 1 jar green salsa
$1 - 1/2 package corn husks
.50 - remaining ingredients

$9 for 13 tamales (4 of us ate 8 for dinner, so the rest will be for lunches/snacks)