Meat to her household...

• She rises while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household...

I'd like to share another recipe this week from my "quick & easy" repertoire. All of the ingredients can pretty much be kept on hand for those nights you don't have time for something elaborate.

Tamale Bake

• 1 can of tamales
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can chili
• shredded cheese--cheddar, monterey jack, or taco blend

Unwrap the tamales and place in a greased or cooking sprayed casserole dish. (This is important! I gave this recipe to someone who forgot this step, and they had tamale wrappers in their casserole when they tried to serve it!) You can lay them in rows, or chunk them up, or mash and spread in the bottom--I've done it all three ways. Spread drained corn on top of the tamales. Spoon chili (straight from the can, you don't have to heat it up) on top and smooth over the corn. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until heated through and cheese is bubbly and browning on the edges.

I've done this in the microwave when the weather was hot--it doesn't brown on the top, but it's still good. I've doubled and even tripled it to take to pot-luck dinners, the only thing you need to do is cook it a little longer to be sure it's heated all the way through. I've also made it with canned, frozen, and fresh tamales. (Fresh is best, but I don't always have access to fresh made hot tamales!) Any way I've done it, it's always been good.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!

Until next time...

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