Homemade Flour Tortillas

It seems like forever since I posted a recipe to this blog and only yesterday when I was holding my youngest newborn son, just a tiny babe...Now, he is no longer a tiny babe, but a strong growing boy almost one year old. This realization just increases my desire to find healthy unprocessed meals for my family to consume. Tonight's experiment, homemade flour tortillas!

I have always wanted to try these, but was afraid it would be difficult or take too much time, but in reality, it was so easy, a few simple ingredients and a few easy steps. My inspiration for this recipe was a blog called Tasty Kitchen. I am so grateful for the detailed steps and all the pictures that made this so easy for a visual learner like myself. I see myself using this recipe often! Next time, I think I will try whole wheat flower and see how it tastes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Organic, Unbleached Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ⅓ cups Olive Oil
• 1 cup Hot Water

 

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder with a whisk. Add the olive oil and mix with your fingers until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add 1 cup of hot water and mix until a ball is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes or let it rest over night to have it prepared in advanced.

 

Divide the dough into 12 balls and roll out one at a time on a floured surface.  Notice I only have eight in the bowl...I remembered to take a picture after I already started rolling out the dough.

 

 

Brush off excess flour. Cook on a hot, ungreased griddle over medium-high heat. Turn the tortilla when brown blisters form on the first side and you notice air bubbles forming. Stack the tortillas and serve warm.

  

I think we have a winner with this recipe! My daughter is all smiles as she enjoys a supper of slow cooker pork fajitas with lettuce, cheese, and black bean and corn salsa. My school aged children will be enjoying these tortillas for school lunch as a quesadilla with extra cheese and pork from today's slow cooker meal.

Beef and Chorizo Mexican Lasagna

One of MANY new freezer meal recipes that I am trying today inspired by the blog "What's Cookin' Chicago". I think my husband will really like, but I question whether my children will want to eat....I did make modifications to the original recipe which is included below.

INGREDIENTS:
8 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 lb ground beef (80% LEAN)
1/2 soft Mexican chorizo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup refried pinto beans (vegetarian is what I used)
1 16oz tub of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend
1 cup diced tomatoes, pico de gallo or your preferred salsa

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a saute pan over medium high heat, crumble in your ground beef and chorizo; brown. Add the minced garlic and diced onion. Stir and cook until softened. Add the taco seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and egg until incorporated. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Set aside. In a 9x13 inch baking pan, lightly butter or spray the bottom of the pan. Place 6 whole wheat flour tortillas on the bottom of the pan, overlapping as needed.

Top the corn tortillas with 1/2 of the refried beans.
Top the beans with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture.
Top the ricotta layer with 1/2 of the beef and chorizo mixture.
Top the beef and chorizo layer with 1/2 of the shredded Mexican cheese.
Top the shredded cheese layer with 1/2 of the diced tomatoes, pico de gallo or your preferred salsa.


Repeat the process again with the corn tortillas, adding a little more cheese on top for good measure; bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until cheese is melted. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve up with sour cream and guacamole.

Mexican Brown Rice

Needed something a little extra to go with the enchiladas I am making for supper tonight, I found this recipe online at Allrecipes.com and modified it slightly to fit my family's tastes. If concerned about the processed taco seasoning in a package like I am, you can make your own. I will submit my recipe as soon as I can.
 
Ingredients:

• 4 cups uncooked instant brown rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can kidney beans unsalted, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes or a can of Rotel, drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer according to directions on package. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Stir in taco seasoning, kidney beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (or can of Rotel), salt, pepper and lettuce.
3. Cook over medium heat until heated through.

REFRIED BEAN AND CHEESE CHIMICHANGAS

My son and I were cuddling on the couch watching PBS Create when Pati from "Pati's Mexican Table" started making chimichangas. My oldest son said, "Yum, that looks good." So I thought, "Hey, lets give it a try for supper tonight." I think it also met my craving need for Mexican food during this 4th pregnancy. Although, my son was excited about helping make it, I don't think he was so excited about it once it was on his plate, but he did eat a majority of it!

 

REFRIED BEAN AND CHEESE CHIMICHANGAS
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups refried beans
1/4 cup water
2 cups Mexican Manchego, Chihuahua, Monterey jack or light chedder, shredded
12 flour tortillas (whole wheat or gluten free work, too) medium size
Salsa of your choice (we used home made from our garden)


TO PREPARE

Pour 2 tablespoons of  oil into a medium sized skillet set over medium heat.  Once hot, add the onion and let it cook 4 to 5 minutes, until softened and translucent.  Add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds more.  Incorporate refried beans along with 1/4 cup water and mix well.  Let it cook and season for a couple minutes as you mash it all together.  Turn off the heat.

 

Cover tortillas with a wet paper towel and heat flour tortillas on a plate for about 40 seconds to soften so they won't break when folded.  Add about 2 heaping tablespoons each of refried beans and cheese near the edge of the tortilla, one at a time.  Begin rolling as if making a chubby taco, after the first fold, tuck in both edges of the tortilla, continuing to roll to make a thick bundle.  Flatten a bit with your hand. 

Reheat remaining oil in the same saute pan over medium-low heat.  Place chimichangas in batches (seam side down) and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until they achieve a lightly browned crust on both sides.  You may also use more oil and deep-fry them over medium heat for less time, but I like the first option more...or you could even place them on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned reducing the amount of oil used.

Serve with the salsa of your choice, lettuce, and sour cream if you wish.

SouthWestern Refried Beans and Chimichangas

It seems like forever since I posted a healthy recipe on my blog website but with this fourth pregnancy, my cravings have been varied and inconsistent with most leaning towards the NOT healthy. In my previous pregnancies, my cravings have been very consistent. My first child was anything home cooked and bread stuffing, YUM! My second child was authentic Mexican food, the spicier the better! With my third, anything sweet. And this one....Well, it started with any shaved ice beverage from fruity to coffee, then to Wings, buffalo or sweet, didn't matter. After that, fruit pies and chocolate deserts. Now, I am craving Mexican food, but not the spicy variety like I did with my second child. So here is one of my favorite Mexican recipes, homemade re-fried beans! It's healthy! and originally from ediets.com many years ago with some modifications of course.

Ingredients:
1 TBsp olive oil
1 can pinto beans
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
dash of salt for flavor
2 TBsp salsa (I used our homemade from the garden)

Mince the garlic and set aside. I use a small holed cheese grater to mince into fine pieces. Rinse and drain the beans in a strainer, set aside. Heat a non-stick skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Saute' garlic until soft, be careful not to burn or brown it or you will have to start completely over and wash the frying pan, totally ruining the flavor of your dish. Add the beans, vegetable broth and spices, raise the heat to medium high and cook covered for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

(My daughter mashing the beans with the potato masher.
Disregard the dirty condition of my stove.)

Using a fork or potato masher, until just smooth. I don't mind if it is as smooth as the re-fried beans in the can...I leave a few beans for show. Continue cooking 3-5 minutes more until thickened. Stir in salsa. This has more flavor than any canned re-fried beans and my family loves it. We are making chimichangas tonight and this is our main ingredient.

Mexican Chicken in the slow cooker

Yesterday was a busy day, so I quickly threw together my Mexican Chicken in the slow cooker, so it was ready at supper time. I have a slow cooker with the flat base heating element and a rectangle pan with glass lid that sits on top. It heats high and fast and usually chicken will be fully cooked after 2 hours. My family really enjoys this recipe, even my children! and it is so healthy and low carb.

Ingredients
1-2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 cup onion diced
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 to 1 cup mild salsa
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 bag frozen corn
1 TBSP oregano
1 TBSP italian seasoning
1 tsp thyme
sea Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

At the bottom of the slow cooker, drizzle the olive oil, add the minced garlic and onions. Place chicken breasts on top of onions and garlic. Pour the salsa, tomatoes and green chilies, seasonings, and corn over chicken. Cook for 2 hours on high and turn down to low for last 1 hour of cooking. Cook until chicken is so tender it will shred easily. Before serving, I shredded the chicken in the slow cooker and mixed with all ingredients. This recipe is so easy and so healthy. It tastes great too. I hope you enjoy it too!