"Make your own...Whaaaat?!" Entry #3: Tortillas

Guacamole may be one of my favorite foods. Wait...no, no, salsa. Better yet...burritos. My point is: Mexican food is one of my all-time weaknesses. I love all things Mexican-food related. When I started making my own tortillas to go with all of this goodness, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
The best part is how stinkin' easy they are to make. Just be warned, once you try these, you will never want a bag of store-bought tortillas again.

Here's what you'll need:

4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. shortening/lard
Appx. 1 c. water

Start by mixing all of the dry ingredients together, like so.

*I should also note that wheat flour works just as well as white, however I would not do more than 2 of the 4 cups with wheat. They will become too stiff to work with.

Stir together, then add the shortening. Now the fun part...Noa's favorite part, in fact. Use your clean hands to squish the shortening into the flour. You should do this all through the flour til it's evenly spread. Then add the water a little at a time, continuing to mix with your hands until a nice dough ball forms. (pictured below)

Then create smaller dough balls, about an inch and a half around. This batch made 12 dough balls, which is more than enough for a family of four's tacos! Also, be sure they are each pretty large, otherwise you will end up with itty bitty tortillas that you can't fit any toppings on!Next, the smashing!! Another kid-friendly favorite part. :)


Push the dough down into circles, then roll them out until they are quite thin, but not so think that you can't pick them up without them breaking apart.
Your tortillas do NOT need to look like perfect circles. Infact, I prefer mine to look like outlines of continents on a map. ;) (See Australia below)

Next, turn your burner on to medium heat, using a non-stick skillet. I prefer my pancake skillet so I can do more than one at a time! Lay out the tortillas on the skillet and wait until you see your tortilla starting to form bubbles. Check the back, and if small brown spots are beginning to occur, flip your tortilla to get the same done-ness on the other side.


Voila! Tortillas. :) These guys are pretty hearty if you ask me, so you should plan for about 2 per each person you are cooking for. Tacos were the order of business for us last night, so here are my tortillas at work, pictured with spiced ground beef, homemade salsa, sour cream and monterey jack cheese. Mmm....

They are a favorite with everyone in my household, especially the little one!!

You should also try these with fajitas, quesadillas, egg and cheese wraps, whatever! Enjoy. :)