Tamale Bites

These are little bites of heaven!  The recipe comes from my friend, Jeannien's cousin, Marlene.  It makes about 200, so make them for a big party or clear out some room in the freezer.

Ingredients:

Tamales:

• 4 lbs. of ground chuck
• 1 pack of chili seasoning or ¼ C.
• 1 pack of taco seasoning or ¼ C.
• 2 T. garlic powder
• 2 (10 oz.) cans of Enchilada sauce 
• 1 lb. of Mexican cheese, shredded
• 1 corn bread

Corn bread:

• 2 C. corn meal mix
• 2 C. milk
• 2 eggs
• ½ C. vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 3 (10oz.) cans of enchilada sauce
• 1 can of Mexican Rotel

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Prepare the corn bread and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown
3. Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees
4. Allow the corn bread to cool, then crush the bread into crumbs
5. Mix all ingredients for the tamale mixture in a large bowl
6. Use a 1 inch scoop leveled, then roll into balls
7. Place tamale bites on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray
8. Bake for 30 minutes
9. At this point you can freeze the tamale bites until you are ready to serve them, or
10. Heat the sauce, add the tamale bites and enjoy!

 Tips and Tricks:

• This is a great Mexican Fiesta dish.  Everyone loves these.
• These freeze well without the sauce.  If you have leftovers that you want to freeze with the sauce, they become mushed up after they are reheated.  They still taste great, but they don't hold their consistency of balls.