Fried Tamales

Yeah, you heard me. Want to make tamales even better? Brown them up in a skillet. With a non stick one you only need a little oil and the crispy, corny, browned masa mixture is awesome. This is, of course, done with already made tamales. In my case straight from the freezer, which is always convenient.I don't think frying instead of steaming would really work well as the initial cooking. But it is a great way to thaw/reheat them, it adds great flavor. As it turned out, I was making some beans that were in a very Mexican style when I was taking these pics so I poured some of the liquid from them over the tamales after the first flip. Then I poured some more on after I plated them. Because really, why the hell not? The ... dough? Casing? Enrobement? What is the outer layer of a tamale called, anyway? Whatever it is, it soaked up the sauce like a sponge and made something that's already awesome even better. So, in closing, fry your tamales. You'll be glad you did.

Multi Purpose Meatballs, for the Freezer

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 cup minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper

Mix everything together. Bake on a baking sheet (lined with foil if you're into that) at 375 until browned and cooked through. Place a clean foil sheet on the pan to get rid of excess fat if you want and freeze for an hour. Transfer to a freezer bag.

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Since I have a limited food budget these days I'm buying more things in bulk (well, bulk for a single guy anyway). This means freezing, since meat just doesn't keep that well in the cabinet. This recipe is easy enough to make in any size batch, you can always change the beef/pork ratio to 1-1 to make it easier. I just made them with weights I had on hand. Also, I didn't have bread crumbs so I made some out of an onion bagel. It was hard to get the bitty pieces I prefer for meatballs, but I really didn't notice in the end.

The reason for there being minimal seasonings is this way you can use them in all kinds of things, adding specific flavors by heating them up in sauces and letting them simmer for a bit. No prep shots since I made these at night, but this post about Italian sausage meatballs covers my method. You know, mix everything together. Form that into balls.

Now see? Meatballs. Cook them. I don't have a pic for that so just imagine the one above, but cooked through, brown and lovely. Or this one, but not frozen.
But that's it, except for putting the pan (once it's cooled of course) into the freezer. I usually use a fresh pan and foil since if you do it right you don't actually have to wash the second pan. Heh. This way those pools of fat don't freeze around the meatballs and as delicious as it is, it's really not needed.

But Bob, I hear you ask, what are we supposed to do with these little meatloaf tasting spheres of pleasure? Well, all kinds of things, you hear me respond. I've made the glaze from this recipe and reheated them in a small pan with some of it. Then they're much more like meatloaf, makes a great sandwich. Or toss them in a pot of tomato sauce, let them simmer for a while and they're perfectly good like that. And other things, I'm sure. I actually have a few ideas, you'll be seeing these again.

And since I was remiss in posting cats this past Sunday, here is what the real Bob was up to this weekend. That's pretty much what he does.

Simple, Easy and Freezer Ready Pizza Sauce

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tbl balsamic
1/2 tsp dried basil
pinch of oregano
salt and pepper

Saute the onions over medium heat until transparent, add the garlic and dried herbs and saute until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and let simmer over low heat for a half hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Freeze in ice cube trays and store in a zipper bag in the freezer.

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Normally when I make a pizza with tomato sauce (which is pretty rare these days, heh), I make a whole batch of sauce and then have a bunch of leftovers. But I had the idea to make some and freeze it in an ice cube tray for easy portioning, so I decided to act on it. See, this way if I want to make a pizza all I have to do is pull out a cube or two, defrost it and there it is. No need for making a whole pot of sauce just for one pizza and then having to figure out what to do with the rest. Plus this gives me the ability to add a little tomato flavor to all kinds of things, like stews or rice, all I have to do is toss in a cube.

Some of you might look at that sauce and think it's pretty spartan. And it is really, although it's lovely without any changes. But I wanted it to be more a base than anything else. Want more flavor for whatever you're doing? Add a pinch or two of fresh herbs to the cubes while they defrost and you can customize it to whatever you're making. Add some more basil and oregano for an Italian taste, some cumin and coriander for a Middle Eastern kind of thing, chili powder and cumin would Mexicanize it, you get the picture. The idea is freezing the sauce like this gives you a lot a of options to experiment without forcing you to use an entire can of tomatoes. I've shared the method, now go forth and saucify!