I am already getting into spring mode at our farm. This weekend will be spent pruning our fruit trees and shrubs and starting a few seeds. Organic Gardening offers an Almanac where you can select your region and it will give you a month-by-month guideline for things you should do each month. February is pruning month for my area.
We are still awaiting the first baby lamb of the year. The girls appear as if they could go at anytime, but still no babies.
I made tamale pie for dinner on Monday, it was really good.
Tamale Pie
1 lb. of hamburger
1 Onion
1 T Olive Oil
1 qt. Frozen corn
3 T. Taco seasoning
1 qt. Ro-tel
Topping:
1 ¼ c Whole wheat pastry flour
¾ c Cornmeal
2 T Sucanat
2 t Baking powder
½ t Sea salt
1 c milk, buttermilk, or fresh cream
¼ c Olive Oil
1 large egg or two small eggs
Cook onions in olive oil in a cast iron skillet until transparent. Add hamburger and cook until no longer pink. Once the hamburger is fully cooked add ro-tel, taco seasoning and corn. Simmer 5 minutes.
In a bowl combine milk, oil, and eggs and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just moistened. Don’t over mix.
Pour the meat mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. Top with cornmeal mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
We top our’s with a little ranch dressing and homemade salsa.
I try to make the NT salsa whenever possible. However, now that tomatoes are out of season and I refuse to buy them at the store here is what I do for salsa. I have a lot of canned ro-tel in the pantry, so when we run out of salsa in the wintertime here is what I do.
Quick and Easy Salsa
1 qt. homemade ro-tel
Chili powder to taste
Place ro-tel and chili powder in a food processor. Tah-dah. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it taste pretty good too. You could always add cilantro, garlic, and other seasonings if you would like.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.
A Simple Prairie Life 