tortillas

Homemade Corn Tortillas

April 4, 2017

It should be no secret that I love Mexican food. It is my comfort food. A friend recently asked me if I had a go-to cuisine that I always fall back on. Mine is undoubtedly Mexican.

I have made lots of Mexican-inspired dished over the years. I’ve even made my own flour tortillas, which are soooo much better than store bought, b.t.dubs. But until recently I hadn’t attempted corn tortillas. They straight up intimidated me.

I think it’s because most authentic recipes call for masa, which I always assumed was hard to come by.

Turns out, you can get masa at the freaking grocery store (face palm)!

However, Google will tell you not all masas are created equal, and Maseca should be used as a last resort.

I will tell you that the Maseca worked just fine for plain old corn tortillas. And who are you going to trust, me or Google? Wait, don’t answer that.

After getting over the hurdle of finding masa, corn tortillas are just as easy to make as flour tortillas. If you are willing to get your hands a little dirty, it’s super easy!

Just mix the water and masa together until if forms a nice soft ball of dough. I recommend just getting in there with your hands. Its more fun that way!

Then wrap up the ball of dough and chill it for at least 30 minutes, if not longer. You want the masa to have a chance to soak up all that moisture.

Once you are ready for your tortillas, separate the big ball in to about 15 equal sized smaller balls of dough. Then use a handy dandy tortilla press (or rolling pin) to press the dough balls into tortillas!

I like to line my tortilla press with a plastic zip top bag that I have cut the sides and top off of so that its just a folded piece of plastic. It makes it so much easier to peel the tortilla off the press.

One at a time, cook the tortillas on a hot skillet or griddle. Cook the for about 30 seconds on each side, until they have a bit of a char.

Keep the raw tortillas in between a damp towel so they don’t dry out. And keep your freshly cooked tortillas under a dry towel or in a tortilla warmer to keep them warm.

Now all you have to do is load them up with your favorite filling. These bad boys were stuffed with my favorite barbacoa. And holy cow were they delicious!

My husband will now only eat homemade corn tortillas (Who’s the high maintenance one now? Nope, still me.) He’s not a huge fan of the store bought kind because they are so dry they just fall apart under the stress of any filling (I’m right there with him, but put up with it because corn tortillas are “healthier”). But these don’t! The stay perfectly intact and withstand the juicy goodness that is taco filling.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:148]

California Tacos with French Fries

January 18, 2017

Unless you are from Southern California or have spent a significant amount of time there, you may assume that a “California taco” is a taco with avocado in it. It’s a safe assumption. Just think of the California Roll or any California-named sandwich.

But if you are from Southern California, like I am, these tacos may remind you of the ultimate food with the Golden State as it’s namesake….

…the California Burrito!

For those who are unfamiliar, the California burrito is a classic carne asada burrito with FRENCH FRIES! Don’t ask questions, just know that it is delicious. My all time favorite California burrito is the Surf n’ Turf California at Lucha Libre in San Diego or Santana’s classic California burrito, which was a staple in High School. But just about any Mexican food spot in San Diego will have their own.

Of course, now that we live in the South, California burritos are completely non existent. Heck, a good burrito of any kind is hard to come by! And I can only get my fix during my annual trips home.

But it was on my last annual trip home that the inspiration came for these tacos in the form of a giant billboard advertising one restaurants own California tacos! I have no idea what restaurant or fast-food chain was advertising. I just saw a taco with French fries and I knew I could replicate that at home!

The tacos came together so quickly, we forgot to take pictures along the way. All we did was brown up ground beef with onion, jalapeno, and garlic while the store-bought frozen french fries crisped up in the oven. Once the meat was ready, we stuffed our tortillas and topped it with the fries and some pico de gallo. I made my homemade whole wheat tortillas because they are so much better than store bought and easier to make than you may think!

You could use carne asada instead of ground beef if you want to be super authentic. But I think the ground beef works perfectly! It’s also much easier than grilling up some carne asada.

These little tacos were freaking fantastic! Not only was my husband in heaven, but after one bite, I was transported back to my high school days when we would grab a burrito on our way to the beach after school to cheer on our surf team.

Was that the most California thing you have ever read? Well don’t worry, it’s not true….I wasn’t cool enough in high school to cheer on our surf team. But the burrito part is totally is. 😉

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:118]

PIN NOW, MAKE LATER

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

June 24, 2016

I know I have shared this flour tortilla recipe before, but I wanted to update it since the recipe and pictures didn’t quite survive the transition to my new blog design. But if I am being really honest, I am updating this recipe for myself. I reference this recipe A LOT, so the fact that I couldn’t easily search for it on the blog was not working for me.

We make these flour tortillas as often as we can because they just taste so much better (and are better for you) than the store bought ones which are probably weeks old and packed with preservatives. The tortillas that I make are taste so much like the ones I used to get from the number of the local Mexican food spots I frequented back home in San Diego.

Fresh, homemade tortillas can make just about anything taste good. and they are actually much easier to make than you might think. The recipe is essentially flour, water, oil, and salt. This time around I used coconut oil instead of my usual olive oil. While they were delicious, there was definitely a hint of coconut flavor. If that doesn’t appeal to you, stick with a milder flavored oil, like olive oil.

No fancy equipment is needed for mixing. I just dig right in with my hands to mix all the ingredients together and form into a ball. Once it’s in ball form, I wrap it in some plastic wrap then pop it in the fridge for a few minutes to set up.

After the dough has chilled for a bit, I divide it into evenly sized balls of dough. Mine were about 1.4 oz each, but you can make them as big or small as you want. I then press the dough balls in a tortilla press. A tortilla press is not necessary, but if you think you will be making tortillas on a regular basis, then I would recommend shelling out a couple bucks for one. If you don’t have one, just roll out the dough with a rolling pin. In fact, I like my tortillas pretty thin, so I roll them out even after I have pressed them.

Once I roll out a tortilla, I pass it off to my husband to cook. We have our system down pat! I roll, he cooks. Roll, cook, repeat. His cooking technique is 15 to 20 seconds per side. You will know when the first side is ready because bubbles will start to form. The second side will cook just as quickly!

We like to store the tortillas in a tortilla warmer as we take them off the skillet so they stay warm and don’t dry out. Once we are ready to eat, we just grab a warm tortilla and assemble.

There are few things better than a fresh, homemade tortilla. Which is why I like to spend a few extra minutes to make them if I am cutting some corners on the filling. For instance, my chicken taco recipe is so simple and requires very little time and effort on my part since I let the slow cooker to all the work. To make the chicken I put chicken breasts, a container of pico de gallo, and about 1 tbsp of taco seasoning in a slow cooker and let that cook all day. Then I just shred with two forks. Easy right? But it tastes like I slaved away for hours when it’s wrapped up in these tortillas!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:49]