Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Homemade Tortillas

People that make their own tortillas are probably a bit weird and fanatical. . .

Unless the person is me,

and I don't like to think that I'm weird, only that I didn't have time to run to the store.

Weird or out-of-time, whichever you choose to believe,

these are actually pretty tasty and crazy easy to make.

I was inspired by Panchero's, where Deeann and I took the girls after an Easter dress shopping marathon.  The guys at Panchero's make those huge tortillas look so incredibly simple to make- just wad, smash, throw on skillet, flip, done!

I don't have a tortilla press, just a rolling pin, but it's super easy regardless.

I followed this recipe  from Taste of Home.  I didn't fry in oil, though, just cooked them two at a time on my large nonstick pancake skillet.

One recipe made enough for a 9 x 13 pan of enchiladas.



And speaking of enchiladas:

We did have a real win the other night with these!


I found these Spinach Black Bean Enchiladas on Pinterest. 

*Small break for some unsolicited Pinterest recipe advice*  (or, how to avoid ending up on a Pinterest fail blog)

Like many recipes online or in magazines, I have found that if you don't like the ingredients separately you aren't going to like them together in a recipe. 

Which is why I don't bother trying recipes with say, olives, or orange marmalade, or tuna, or eggplant. 

If it looks too hard to make, it probably is.

If it's way out of your budget range, just skip it.   Quinoa is $10 for a tiny bag that looks like it might feed Eli breakfast in my town.  We don't make stuff with quinoa.  It's just not worth it, as crazy exciting as the fad may be. That way, you won't end up like Daniel, who once threw away many, many millet-swiss cheese mock burgers. ( It's a long story.)

Anyway, back to the enchiladas.

I was really skeptical since the sauce was homemade, but these far exceeded my expectations. The kids loved it, Daniel hoarded the leftovers to take to work, and I thought they were super fresh tasting, which is my current highest food compliment.

Try 'em out. :)

8 comments:

  1. Umm...I make my own tortillas because homemade simply tastes so much better! I freeze the extras to have on hand. It isn't weird to make your own. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip Stephanie!! Although at this point they aren't lasting too long ;)

      Delete
  2. Hah I love that someone else shares my same feelings on quinoa. I just can't bring myself to spend that much on a tiny bag that we will eat in one meal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha, yeah, Janene- so wanted to be a quinoa girl. I picked up the bag and set it down two or three times and figured I could pretend barley was quinoa.

      Delete
  3. Do you have a Costco near you? That is where we get our quinoa ... I think $8 for a good-sized bag. I don't think I would ever buy it in the health section of a normal grocery store. A little quinoa also goes a long way (it gets bigger as it cooks and is high in protein and really filling). Anyway, super healthy and yummy as a breakfast cereal with almonds and blueberries or with black beans and cilantro/lime for a salad ... you really should try it if you can find a good source!

    And I love your homemade tortilla idea ... I will have to try. Especially the spinach version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Okay, Lisa, I believe you. And we did just get a Costco in our nextdoor big city but I haven't been yet. It sounds so good. . . like I said, I really do want to be a quinoa girl. ;)

      Delete
  4. Mine ended up with quite a bit of flour remaining on them, since I didn't want them to stick during the rolling process. Did you find that to be true also? If they are used in enchiladas I am sure they'd be fine, just not sure how a soft shell taco would be with the floury residue. We made quesadillas with ours!

    ReplyDelete
  5. lcm - The first time they were flour-y, but like you said, the enchiladas were forgiving. I was really careful with the flour the second time I made them.I I've been trying to make sure that the tortillas are relatively flour free before I cook them on the griddle/skillet, using as little flour as possible. Thanks for pointing that out; I forgot the flour detail. Hope you make it to round two!

    ReplyDelete