A Mexican Treat for a Mountain Weekend

For Connor's 8th Birthday my mom booked for all of us to go up north this weekend and go tubing at Blue Mountain.  We're going to have a cabin to stay in and of course we, ok, mostly me, don't want to eat out every night if we have a space to cook in.  I don't plan on making any gourmet meals and I'll tell you the reason for that...my brother Ty, is one of the PICKIEST eaters you will ever meet!!  Seriously, when we were kids, if I cooked his Kraft Dinner in water from the tap (which was "town" water, chlorinated & yucky to drink) and not out of the water cooler he could tell the difference, I'm not kidding you. 

 So, mom and I were talking the other night and we decided on doing Fajitas and Tacos one night.  This is a "safe" meal when it comes to Ty and to be honest, I really like them too:)  I told mom that instead of the high sodium store bought stuff, I'd bring my Epicure Taco and Fajita Seasoning Mixes and I would make tortillas at home.  Of course her response was..."Are you sure Ty will eat them?" Being me, I assured her he would because I've cooked this "safe" meal when I've had him over for dinner here before.

Here's a quick look at my trusty Epicure Fajita and Taco Seasoning Mixes,
take note of the nutritional info and if you want, compare to
what you have in the cupboard if it isn't already Epicure.

 

 

 

 

I decided to make up the tortiallas today so that I could get them done and out of the way.  Whenever I make flour tortillas I always use a recipe I found in a book called 55 Classic Recipes: Bread from Around the World by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter, you can find it here.  The original recipe calls for lard or shortening but I wanted to change it today because I noticed some ingredients in my store bought lard that have been found to be, how should I put it...not very good for you and just leave it at that.  It's not really a big change because all I did was substitute unsalted butter for the lard. 

 

I've been making my own tortillas for awhile now, are they perfectly round like the ones you find in a grocery store...no, but, they don't have a bunch of ingredients that I can't pronounce or have on hand because I'd need a lab and a white coat to cook them up.  These tortillas are super easy to make, keep well and, in my opinion, don't feel like a chunk of cardboard in my mouth.

 

Basic ingredients that I'm betting you already have on hand!!

 

Flour Tortillas

 

225 grams (approx. 2 cups) Unbleached All Purpose Flour

1 Tsp Salt

3/4 Tsp Baking Powder, I've started using Aluminum Free, just an FYI

3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

150 mL (approx 2/3 cup) Warm Water

 

First up, mix the flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl.  Add the butter, cut into about 1/4" thick pieces and cut in using a pastry blender or knives.

 

You want to end up with little crumbles of butter, almost the size of a pea.

 

 

Once you have the butter cut in, stir in the warm water and give it a quick knead to make a soft dough.

 

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.

My trusty timer:)

Once it's done resting, divide it into either 8, 10 or 12 equal sized balls.  I'll be honest, I usually give mine a quick weigh to keep them as equal as possible. 

 

8 Balls-Approx. 50 grams each-10"-11" Tortillas

10 Balls-Approx. 40 grams each-8"-9" Tortillas

12 Balls-Approx 35 grams each-6"-7" Tortillas

 



Once you have them all divided, roll them out on a floured surface.  I reflour my surface after each one and pat it out into a rough circle by hand, flouring both sides a little bit before rolling because the dough is somewhat sticky and for me, it's just easier that way.

 

Honestly, I use more flour then that on the
board once I get rolling...haha, get it, rolling:)

I get this shape about 1 out of every 2 or 3...lol

After they've all been rolled out, using either a griddle or cast iron pan (I had to use my griddle because my cast iron pan was in the oven getting reseasoned) heat it up to about medium, medium-high heat and add a tortilla.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes total, flipping it over after it starts to bubble a bit.

 

Bubbling while cooking

If you're going to use them right away, wrap them in a towel to keep warm while you're cooking up the rest.  If you're going to save them for later you can reheat them by wrapping them up in foil and warming them up in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes.

 

See, how easy is that...easey-peasey.  I'll have to let you know how dinner with Ty goes this weekend, maybe I'll try to sneak some veggies in somewhere and really throw him for a loop:)