Homemade Flour Tortillas I

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These are far yummier than the pre-made, store-bought tortillas. You can substitute half wheat flour to make them healthier and heartier. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
2. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is very adaptable, and is totally delish.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 cup white hominy
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
chopped green onions

Directions

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Chili Tortilla Stacks

We made these a few weeks ago after a Fast Sunday, and man, they were hearty. Way heavier than we expected. But also really ridiculously good. I didn't get a picture, but they look somewhat like this, except I think they looked better. I could only handle eating one, and felt too full after that. Next time we'll be cutting them like little pizzas for smaller and more reasonable portions.


Ingredients

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef or turkey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup salsa, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided (we used about half this)
• Sour cream, sliced black olives, and chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Brown ground beef with garlic in large skillet until no longer pink; drain. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa, beans and green onions; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Place 4 tortillas on foil-lined baking sheet. Spread half of bean mixture evenly over tortillas, spreading to edges, using about 1/3 cup bean mixture for each tortilla. Top with 3/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering with 4 more tortillas, remaining bean mixture and 3/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining 4 tortillas. Spoon remaining salsa evenly over tortillas, spreading to edges.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and sliced olives. Bake 5 minutes more or until heated through. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Yummiest Salsa Ever

Photo by The Pioneer Woman
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A few months ago our friend Meg made this *incredible* salsa for her little girl's birthday party, and we about died when we tasted the heavenliness of it. You will LOVE it. Recipe from The Pioneer Woman (LOVE her!). Click here for original. 

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup

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This recipe is from my dear cousin Ashley, and comes highly recommended! 

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Easiest Ever Taco Soup

My fun neighbor Amy gave me this incredible, super-easy recipe for taco soup, and I am in love. It takes mere seconds to put together, and then you just heat it up and wa-lah! So here it is:

Easiest Ever Taco Soup

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 packet taco seasoning

Dump the cans (with liquids) into a saucepan, and add taco seasoning. Mix and warm over medium heat until hot.

Quickest home-cooked dinner ever.

Top with whatever you have on hand. Ideas? Fresh cilantro, sour cream, tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar or jack cheese, green onion, sliced olives...I think the options are endless. We like to eat our chili and taco soups with hot cornbread.

Notes: You could also cook hamburger and chopped onion together and add that too. Also, black beans work great too.

Shaun and I tried it with cooked ground venison instead of corn, to make for a heartier dinner (and I wasn't in a corn mood) and it was delicious! I think this is a really versatile recipe, and seriously, if you don't have lots of time to make dinner one night, this will be your best friend. 

Fire and Ice Salsa

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I made this for a baby shower last week and was really truly shocked by how yummy it was! I had to use dried cilantro and white onion instead of green and didn't even have jalapenos, and it was still a hit! Served with the scoop tortilla chips--would also be good with the hint of lime tortilla chips. Mmm! =)

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped watermelon
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve.

Homemade Tortillas II

I am a tortilla snob. I really like good tortillas. Usually I buy the kind you can get at Costco that aren't cooked yet, because freshly made tortillas are just the best. Warm and perfect! But those are a bit pricey, so I decided to try making homemade tortillas again, but didn't want to use my old recipe with shortening. This recipe uses olive oil instead, and is the simplest, easiest, quickest way I've found so far to make these babies. Oh, and they taste perfect, by the way!  We've been making these at least once a week lately. Mmmm!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water and oil with wooden spoon. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-12 times, adding a little flour or water if needed to achieve a smooth (not sticky!) dough. (Instead of kneading it on the counter, I've also kneaded it in my kitchen aid mixmaster, with the kneading attachment.) Let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Divide dough into eight portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7-in. circle. (I rolled them out into funny looking shapes, but then put a large plastic plate over the dough and cut a circle around the funny edges. It made for very pretty tortillas! If you do this, you may want to just divide the dough into 6 or so portions, since you'll have leftovers to roll out at the end.)
3. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook tortillas over medium heat for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Keep warm. (I keep them in the warm oven until ready to serve.)

Original source

Easy Beef Enchiladas

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Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (1.5 ounce) package dry enchilada sauce mix, or canned enchilada sauce
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly browned and onion is tender.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to package directions. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.
4. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and olives.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

Rice and Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1/4 cup picante sauce
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 8 (6 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, picante sauce, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until heated through and mixture thickens. Add rice; cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through.
2. Spoon a rounded 1/2 cup down the center of each tortilla. Fold sides over filling and roll up. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese, and bake until melted. Top with cilantro. 

Notes: We like to cook the rice in chicken broth after browning it a bit with the onion and garlic and olive oil, and then add the pepper, beans, tomatoes, seasonings and picante sauce. We've also used green taco sauce when we don't have picante, and Shaun likes it better that way! We like to eat these with fresh lime and cucumber wedges.