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Ingredients

1 pound of pork fat, without skin

1 big onion

1 clove of garlic

1 sour apple (optionally)

5 ounces of bacon

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

½ teaspoon of marjoram

Instructions

1. Chop finely the pork fat and fry it slowly until it becomes a liquid with small white "skwarki" (pork rinds). It will take about 20-25 minutes.

2. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, and bacon. Fry slowly for another 15 minutes.

3. Add salt, pepper, and marjoram.

4. If you decided to add an apple, chop it finely or grate. Fry slowly for another 15 minutes.

5. Smalec is ready. Pour it into the jar(s), wait until it's cold and put it in the fridge. You can store it there for up to 2 weeks.

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Our family recipe makes the Best Mexican Tamales Recipe ever! Here are step by step photos and a beautiful video to show you my special tips for making Mom's light, flavorful masa and tender meat filling so you make her delicious tamales recipe at home.

Every family that makes tamales thinks their mom's tamales recipe is the best. But, my mom's tamales really are the best. You can ask anyone. I am proud to share her Traditional Mexican Tamales Recipe with you.

One of the best things about Mom's tamales is the masa. It is light and fluffy and full of corn flavor. The filling is a mixture of beef and pork that is cooked until tender then, stirred into a delicious red chile sauce.

Mom puts a black olive in the center of the red chile meat before rolling the tamale up in it's corn husk for steaming. The olive is a signature of a tamales recipe from the Old Southwest.

It is not hard to make tamales at home but, they do take some time. So, making tamales is the perfect time to gather family and friends around the table for a day of fun and friendship.

In the Southwest, tamale making at Christmas time is a treasured tradition. Families gather together and spend the day rolling tamales together. My mother, my sister and I have made dozens and dozens of tamales together over the years and look forward to making a big batch anytime we can.

To us, making this tamales recipe is an art form. We have shared step by step pictures of Mom's (AKA Carol Hicks) technique for mixing the masa and rolling the tamales so that you will get a tamale that is just as light and beautiful as Mom's.

Tips for making the best Mexican Tamales Recipe:

Cook the beef and pork mixture the day before preparing the masa and rolling the tamales. Refrigerate the meat mixture overnight in a large bowl so that the fat will rise to the top and solidify. Remove the fat from the top of the meat before mixing into the red chile sauce.

1. Buy fresh, plain masa NOT masa that is already prepared with lard. Here is the link to my Mexican Food Basics: Masa Basics post to show you the different types of masa.

2. Note: this recipe is not formulated for dried, packaged masa mix or masa harina. You must use fresh masa. See our Tamales Recipes page for tamales with dried masa harina or masa mix.

3. The masa should not be compressed and dense or squished into a hard lump during transport or storage. Try to loosen it up a little before adding it to the lard mixture by breaking it into smaller chuncks.

4. Buy a little extra lard. The key to fluffy tamales is whipping in enough lard and air into the masa so that a small spoonful of masa will float on the top of a glass of cold water. If the masa doesn't float, whip it some more and add more lard a little bit at a time.

5. Soak the corn husks in water over night. We soak quite a few at a time so I use a medium sized ice chest with enough water to submerge the husks in the water and rinse them off at the same time.

6. Spread the masa gently so that you don't over work the masa. Treat the masa like you would treat buttercream icing.

7. Leave a border around the edge of the corn husk with no masa on it so that the bare edges can be brought together while rollling the tamale keeping the masa inside.

8. Fold the bottom of the corn husk up, sealing off the bottom of the tamale.

9. Place the tamales upright in a large steamer. Make sure the tamales are upright in the steamer and packed well enough to keep their shape and not fall over in the steamer.

10. Do not let boiling water reach the bottoms of the tamales. The boiling water will make that part of the tamale very tough.

11. Check the steamer often to ensure there is still water in the pan and it has not boiled out. Add more water when needed but, try not to get water in the tamales.

The masa should be light and fluffy like buttercream frosting when you are finished. You can tell the masa is ready when a teaspoon full of masa floats to the top of glass of cold water.

Remember to soak the corn husks submerged in water overnight before you start so that they will be soft and supple when you roll the tamales. Give the corn husk a little "stretch" before you spread in the masa. Be careful not to tear the corn husk. You can over lap smaller husks together before spreading on the masa which will "glue them together. Spread the masa on the corn husk about a ¼ inch thick. Leave a one inch margin around the top and the side edges with about 2 inches of margin on the bottom edge.

The meat for the filling should also be made the day ahead so that it can be refrigerated over night. Chilling the meat over night will allow more of the fat to rise to the top and be easily removed from the mixture. Too much fat in the meat will discolor the masa and change the texture of the tamale. Spoon the meat filling down the center of the tamale placing an olive in the very center.

Carefully fold the corn husk around the tamale making sure the masa completely incloses the meat on the bottom and sides of the tamales. The perfect homemade tamales leave the tops open and the filling slightly showing from the top.

Gently ease the tamale into a beautiful, round cylinder. You may tie the tamale around the center with a strip of corn husk for decorative purposes and to securely close the corn husk but, as you get used to rolling the tamales, they will hold their own shape without the tie. Fold the bottom of the corn husk up so that the tamale is enclosed and protected from the steam while cooking.

Try not to stack too may tamales on top of each other until they have been frozen or steamed. The weight of additional tamales will not only misshape them but, also create the dense masa you are trying to avoid.

Shop this affiliate link to help you find everything you will need to make this tamales recipe.

We know you will love these tamales as much as we do. They are the perfect tamale so... why waste time with any other?

Let us know how you like them, we love hearing from you. Be sure to check out our Facebook fan page this week, I will be posting the ingredient lists for the rest of this week's Mayan inspired recipe so that you can shop ahead of time and be ready on the big day!

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Our family recipe makes the Best Mexican Tamales Recipe ever! Here are step by step photos and a beautiful video to show you my special tips for making Mom's light, flavorful masa and tender meat filling so you make her delicious tamales recipe at home.

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Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice with Pigeon Peas)

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There’s nothing more quintessentially Puerto Rican than arroz con gandules.

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Cheese Pie - Sirnica (Serbian & Bosnian)

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Cheese Pie - Sirnica (Serbian & Bosnian)

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https://lilluna.com/arroz-con-leche/#wprm-recipe-container-125632

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Classic Arroz Con Leche - a variation of rice pudding that is sweet and cooked with milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk and topped with cinnamon.

This delicious Mexican dessert is simple to make and a classic rice pudding recipe. If you love cinnamon and love pudding, you won't be able to resist this yummy treat. Be sure to check out our Mexican hot chocolate and Tres Leches cake too!

What is Arroz con Leche?

Arroz con leche, aka rice pudding, was a dessert my mom grew up on. My great-grandma made it, and I wanted to find a recipe that tasted just like it. Fortunately, I did just that and now have introduced this delicious dessert to my own children. But, what is it exactly?

If you're not familiar with rice pudding, arroz con leche is a Spanish dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients like cinnamon and raisins. The dish also has some sort of sweetener, whether it's sugar or sweetened condensed milk.

This rice can also be served warm or cold, but either way you have it, it's a tapioca-like treat that is delicious. It can also be served as a breakfast dish too!

How to Make Arroz Con Leche

Add water, rice and cinnamon sticks to a large saucepan and cook on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and let cook for 16-18 minutes.

Drain liquid from the sauce pan, remove cinnamon sticks and put rice back in the pan. Add all 3 milks - evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk to the pan. Let come to a boil.

Reduce heat to LOW and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly. The milk can easily burn so it's important to stir as much as possible as it thickens.

Pour rice into cups and sprinkle on cinnamon. If you like more cinnamon, add 1 tsp of cinnamon (or more) in when adding the milks. We like to serve it warm, but it can also be cooled too.

substitutions & toppings

Can you make this with Brown Rice? Yes, although it may alter the consistency a little. It is a healthier version which gives you fiber.

Can you make it without sweetened condensed milk? We love that the sweetened condensed milk makes it more rich and creamy, but it can also be omitted. Just use a ¾ cup more milk and ¾ cup sugar instead.

Can you make in the slow cooker? Of course! We actually have a slow cooker rice pudding on the site. Ingredients aren't exactly the same, but the taste is very similar.

What are the best toppings for arroz con leche? There are lots of toppings you can use from fruit to nuts, but here are some of our favorites:

Variations & Storing

There are so many variations for this recipe. Golden and regular raisins are a classic to add to this dish, but since we aren't huge fans, we omitted those. If you want to use raisins we recommend adding them once you are cooking the rice for the last 20 minutes.

Other additions include some of the toppings we listed above. Various fruits and nuts and spices will all change the recipe and a bit more flavor.

Can this be made ahead of time? Yes. Just store in the fridge in a tupperware for a few days. We reheat it in a pot and add a bit more cinnamon to the top before serving.

If it's too thick, we recommend adding a bit of milk when reheating. 😉

We love that we have this simple but tasty recipe on hand that brings back so many memories for my mom! If you want an even easier version, be sure to check out our slow cooker rice pudding recipe.

For more favorite recipes, check out:

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Classic Arroz Con Leche - a variation of rice pudding that is sweet and cooked with milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk and topped with cinnamon. This delicious Mexican dessert is simple to make and a classic rice pudding recipe. If you love cinnamon and love pudding, you won't be able to resist this yummy treat.

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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/baked-mostaccioli/#tasty-recipes-21951-jump-target

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THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS. AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.

Baked Mostaccioli combines Italian sausage, peppers, garlic, onions and marinara all blanketed in oodles of mozzarella and provolone cheese. It is the ultimate easy comfort food meal, family friendly. and guaranteed to please!

It is a hearty meal by itself but for a complete company worthy meal I like to serve it with Triple Cheese Garlic Bread and Italian Chopped Salad with Fresh Italian Dressing.

This is not your lunch ladies mostaccioli! Or your wedding day mostaccioli. This delicious Baked Mostaccioli is loaded with fresh Italian sausage, sweet onions, green bell peppers, minced garlic, and marinara. It is then topped with fresh Parmesan, mozzarella and provolone cheese. Baked Mostaccioli can be prepped in advance, loaded in the refrigerator and baked at the optimum time.

We are one pasta loving family. So easy, comforting and so darn delicious every time. Are you and yours pasta lovers? Have you tried any of my other pasta dishes? Parmesan Pasta, Pasta con Broccoli, Bacon Asparagus Cajun Pasta, and this recipe are just a few of our favorites.

How to make Baked Mostaccioli

First cook your mostaccioli noodles al dente according to package instructions and drain well. Meanwhile in a large skillet over medium heat brown the sausage. When almost completely browned add the green pepper and onions. Cook until the onions and green peppers begin to soften. Then add the minced garlic and cook for one minute. Now remove the pan from the heat and drain any excess grease.

Next stir the cooked sausage mixture, cooked mostacccioli, and marinara in a large casserole dish. Then top with the grated Parmesan Cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, and shredded Provolone Cheese. Finally bake in the oven for about twenty five minutes or until the cheese is melted and very lightly browned.

What to serve with it

Italian Salad

Garden Salad

Bread Sticks

Garlic Cheese Bread

Minestrone Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Puff Pastry Pinwheels

Creamy Cucumber Tomato Salad

Fresh Fruit Salad

Recipe notes and helpful tips

Cook the mostaccioli al dente which means still somewhat firm. As it will be baked for a bit with the sausage, veggies and sauce. You don't want to overcook it.

Penne or ziti noodles can be substituted for the mostaccioli noodles.

Use good quality Italian sausage. Most butcher shops make their own, Consequently it tastes so much better than the processed sausage with all the preservatives in it.

Ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork can be substituted for the sausage.

Chop the green pepper and onion fairly fine so you get a little bit of each in almost every bite.

Use a high quality tasty marinara. They really have come a long way with jarred marinara. Some of them taste pretty darn good and do not have any preservatives in them.

Grate and shred your cheese fresh from the block. That way you will not have preservatives, added enzymes and cellulose.

For a change of pace try adding fresh cooked chopped spinach or ricotta cheese.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at a reduced power.

More pasta recipes you will love!

This post was originally published July 21, 2015 and was republished September 4, 2020 with new content.

Baked Mostaccioli

A super easy family friendly classic casserole with mostaccioli, Italian Sausage, peppers, onions, garlic and marinara. It is covered in a blanket of delicious Italian cheeses and baked to perfection.

Notes
Keywords: how to make mostaccioli, best mostaccioli recipe, mostaccioli pasta
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf

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THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS. AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. Baked Mostaccioli combines Italian sausage, peppers, garlic, onions and marinara all blanketed in oodles of mozzarella and provolone cheese. It is the ultimate easy comfort food meal, family friendly.

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One of the most beloved of all Swabian dishes, Kasespatzle (German Cheese Spaetzle) is everything great comfort food should be!

How to Make Kasespatzle

Where I'm from in Stuttgart, Germany, Kasespatzle is a classic - a quintessential Swabian comfort food dish. Homemade Spätzle are layered with gobs of shredded Emmentaler and geröstete Zwiebeln (caramelized onions) and then baked in the oven. I guess you could say it's Germany's version of mac and cheese.

Käsespätzle (cheese spaetzle) was a favorite dish in our home and we always looked forward to it when my mom would make it. Though Bavarian by birth she spent her later childhood through young adult years in Stuttgart and she'll freely admit that Swabian cuisine is Germany's best. And I couldn't agree more. Here is a thoroughly authentic Kasespatzle recipe just like my mom always made it.

Nothing compares to homemade Spaetzle and I highly recommend making it yourself. Get our recipe for Authentic German Spaetzle.

If you love pasta and cheese and caramelized onions you will definitely LOVE this Kasespatzle!

Chewy homemade German egg noodles oozing with Swiss cheese and topped with butter caramelized onions.....

Comfort food really doesn't get any better than this!

We had this for dinner and the next morning our 3 year old daughter requested it for breakfast! You've never heard so many exclamations of "oooh" and "yummmyyyy" before. She's taking after her mommy and Omi (German grandmother). She even devoured every last bit of caramelized onion and then went about her play, zapping things with her magic wand.

If you'd like to know more about Spaetzle, southern Germany, and how to make the best homemade Spätzle, see my post for Homemade German Spaetzle.

Ready to make some Kasespatzle?

Let's get started!

Melt the butter in a medium-sized heavy stock pot or Dutch oven.

Add the onions and stir occasionally for 20-30 minutes until deeply caramelized. Halfways into it sprinkle with a little salt and sugar to help with the caramelizing.

Get them really nice and brown.

While the onions are cooking make the Spätzle.

Make one batch of my Homemade German Spätzle.

Set the Spätzle aside until ready to use (they can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use).

Shred the cheese.

Käsespätzle is only as good as the quality of Swiss cheese you use. Do yourself a favor and get the good stuff. No, the American Swiss cheese just doesn't cut it. Get some European-imported Swiss cheese. Emmentaler and Jarlsberg are both good options. I often like to combine it with some strong Gruyere for extra flavor.

The other key: Lots and lots of deeply caramelized onions. Don't skimp on these. Use two jumbo-sized onions. The more caramelized onions, the better the Käsepätzle will be.

Butter a 9×13 (or slightly smaller) casserole dish. Place a third of the Spätzle in the bottom of dish, followed by a third of the cheese and a third of the caramelized onions. Sprinkle some salt over each layer.

Repeat until you've completed all the layers, ending with the cheese and the onions on top.

Bake the Spätzle uncovered at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the some of the edges have just started to get crispy.

Serve immediately. A light sprinkling of chopped parsley always adds a bit of color and class.

Enjoy!

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German Cheese Spaetzle (Schwäbische Käsespätzle)

Kimberly Killebrew

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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my disclosure policy. One of the most beloved of all Swabian dishes, Kasespatzle (German Cheese Spaetzle) is everything great comfort food should be! Where I'm from in Stuttgart, Germany, Kasespatzle is a classic - a quintessential Swabian comfort food dish.

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4 eggs
3 cups milk
2 cups flour
vanilla extract to taste
blend together, be sure to have an extra hot pan with a few drops of canola oil,  spread out the batter very thin and flip after about 1 minute.  Fill with fruit or jam of your choice!