Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

Who doesn't love tortillas?  And I'm referring to handmade ones.  I remember in college going to Don Pablo's just to eat their freshly made tortillas, salsa and queso.  Store bought tortillas in my opinion are not good.  At all.  They lack the flavor and texture I love from the ones hot off the pan. 

But honestly, I don't know if you can get much more unhealthy than a flattened ball of bleached flour and lard. On a whim I decided to try to make a healthier version.  I read a few recipes on traditional tortillas and a few on whole wheat ones.  Several of the "healthier" ones add different oils in place of the lard, from Crisco to avocado oil.  I often cook with coconut oil, which has a lard-like consistency, and I decided to try it out.  (Coconut oil, by the way, is a great and healthy oil to cook with.)

The recipe and ingredients are simple.  Making tortillas takes a little time and a bit of labor, but it is oh so worth it!

Combine flour, salt and oil in a food processor.  (If you don't have a food processor, I'm sure you could cut the dough with a pastry cutter or forks like you would a pie dough.)

Using the dough hook, pulse until the mixture resembles crumbly, wet sand.  If necessary, push the mixture off of the sides.

When the consistency is right, slowly pour in the hot water.  Allow to mix until the dough becomes a sticky ball. 

Remove the dough and place in a  large bowl.  Knead the dough about 30 times until it becomes smooth.  It will be very sticky at first. 

Allow the dough to rest for 45-60 minutes.  This gives you some time to clean up your mess and eat the left over dough, like the baby and I did.  :)  (Remember my love of dough?)

Once the dough has rested, divide it into little balls.  This batch made 16 hand-sized tortillas.  You can make them larger or smaller if you wish.

Using a rolling pin (or a tortilla press, if you have one), roll the ball into a thin tortilla.  Don't worry if it's not perfectly round.  They all taste the same.  :)

Now it's time to cook them up!  While you're rolling, heat up a skillet (I used a non-stick) over medium-high heat.  Place one tortilla in the skillet.  Cook for about 30 seconds per side.  Remove it from the pan and keep on cookin'! 

When you're done, resist from eating the entire plate.  I wrap mine in paper towels and then in foil.  I put them in the fridge until dinner time.  I have read that tortillas freeze easily, but I haven't tried it.

Tortillas can be used for almost anything, whether it's a breakfast burrito, sandwich wrap, or in our case tonight, steak fajitas.  :)

Whole Wheat Tortillas

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water

Combine first three ingredients in food processor.  Pulse until mixture is the consistency of wet sand.  Add water and continue to mix until it becomes a ball of sticky dough.  Place dough in a large bowl and knead about 30 times until smooth.  Allow the dough to rest for about 45-60 minutes.  Divide the dough into 16 balls.  Roll each ball into a thin tortilla.  Heat a pan over medium high heat.  Cook the tortilla for 30 seconds per side.  Eat, refrigerate or freeze. 

Enjoy!

Pinterest Picks

Pinterest is a great place to go to look for some culinary inspiration. It's time again for me to share some of my latest recipe attempts.

1. Hasselback Potatoes 

image from http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/



These potatoes were pretty good.  I can say that it was pretty difficult to not cut all the way through the potato though and to keep the slices a pretty uniform size.  It was a fun, different way to serve potatoes, and I will definitely be fixing them again...when I get a sharper knife.





2.  Mini Breakfast Frittatas

image from Food Network

I love this recipe, or really I call it a method.  I saw Giada make these on the Food Network a while back and have made them numerous times since.  They are quick and easy.  Honestly, I have made so many of varieties of these because you can put any combination of meat/veggie/cheese that you like. 





3.  Brown Paper Bag Microwave Popcorn



image from http://www.squawkfox.com/



Yes, this really works, and is GREAT!  If you love popcorn and want a fun way to serve it, please give this a try.  It's a wonderful way to control the amount of oil and salt you use. 

4.  My Fridge Food

image from http://www.myfridgefood.com/

Finally, this is just a really neat website that can help you make dinner out of the ingredients you have on hand.  Any meal is just a few clicks away. 

Have you all tried any recipes worth making again?  Any worth avoiding?

Pinterest Picks

When I joined Pinterest a few months back, I became a pinning queen.  I love finding inspiration about clothes, crafts, big projects, photography and of course recipes.  On my food board alone I have 274 pins! 

Is it realistic that I am going to try 274 different recipes? (Actually it's more since some of the pins have multiples, ex: 15 Portable and Delicious Breakfast Baked Goods.)  Probably not, but I have committed to trying several of them. 

Here's some of the ones that I have already tried.

1.  Nutella Hot Chocolate- I am in love with all things Nutella.  When I saw this pin, it was something I immediately made.  Just warm up milk on the stove top.  Add Nutella.  Stir until melted.  It was so simple and delicious.  Sounds like my Nutella Coconut Coffee from the other day.  :)

2.  The Two Ingredient Cake- Seriously?!? Yes!!! It was incredible and delicious.  I changed it up a bit and bought a "butter" cake mix.  I did not use the recipe for the apple cider glaze.  I made a half batch of chocolate frosting using The Pioneer Woman's recipe.  You must try this recipe. 

3. String Cheese Baked in Egg Roll Wrappers- If you open the link, it is a recipe for fried cheese sticks, but if you read through all the comments you will notice there are tips for baking them.  Please, don't waste your time.  I tried cutting the cheese into smaller bits, so it wouldn't explode and seep out of the wrappers.  I tried changing the oven temperature to help with the odd texture of the wrappers.  Nothing seemed to work for me.  Sorry, this recipe was a fail.

4.  Roasted Cabbage- I don't know why I never thought of this before.  Roasting is my preferred way to cook veggies.  This was delicious.  The recipe states to cut the cabbage into rounds, but I have started cutting mine into wedges.  I also do not use caraway or fennel seeds.  I season mine with salt, pepper, and dashes of garlic powder and paprika. 

I've tried several more recipes and will keep you informed.  I hope to make this Pinterest rating thing a regular post.  Hope you all find it helpful. :)



(Also, I have no idea who took the original pictures for the recipes to give credit.  none of these photos are mine, only what I've pinned on Pinterest.)

Way back in November.....

As a mother of three young sons, I love reading about fun, family-friendly activities. One of my go to magazines is Metro Family Magazine. Reading through the October 2011 edition, I noticed a recipe contest. The contest asked readers to submit a favorite, traditional holiday recipe with a twist. I had the perfect recipe! I quickly submitted my recipe for Sweet Potato and Banana Puree and crossed my fingers for a win! The prize was a good one. Not only would my recipe be published in the upcoming edition, but a Latin inspired cookbook and a $100 gift certificate from the Cooking Girl to spend on premade meals or (what I really wanted, cooking classes)!

About a week later I was contacted by the magazine. I HAD WON!!! I was beyond excited! I made plans to pick up my cookbook and began to research what cooking classes I wanted to attend. When the edition came out, I hurried to the library to snag a copy or two. I won't lie, it was pretty cool to see my name in print.

A couple months later, and I am finally planning on going to the cooking classes. It's been a little difficult trying to find a time that my husband would be home to watch the boys.

Below is the "prize winning" recipe. :) I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. Thanks again, MetroFamily and Cooking Girl!

Sweet Potato and Banana Puree

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes

1 ripe banana (skin on)

2 TBSP unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup maple syrup

1 TBSP ground cinnamon .

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp salt

½ pound pecan, chopped

3 TBSP butte

r 1 tsp salt

1 TBSP brown sugar

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Poke sweet potatoes several times with fork. Bake on cookie sheet for 45 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven, and place the entire banana on the cookie sheet. Return sweet potatoes and banana to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool. At that time, peel the sweet potatoes and banana and place in food processor or mixing bowl. Mix until the potatoes are chunky. Add the softened butter and syrup, and puree until smooth. Add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt, and mix to combine. Pour mixture to a baking dish and smooth out. While the potatoes and banana are baking, melt the remaining butter in a skillet over low heat. Add pecans and salt, and sauté for approximately five minutes, stirring frequently. Drain pecans on paper towels. Layer the nuts on top of the sweet potato mixture and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

*This recipe can also be made ahead and refrigerated. After putting the potato mixture in the casserole dish, it can be covered and refrigerated one day ahead of serving. On the day of serving, remove from refrigerator and sauté pecans. Increase baking time to 30 minutes to insure it is warmed through. I have actually used a couple bananas too.

Summer Yummers!

There is nothing better in the summer time than fresh produce. The vegetable choices are at their peak. Whether you harvest from your own backyard, find at a farmer's market, or swing through the produce aisle, summer veggies are a quick go to for a meal. One of the easiest and yummiest way I cook up my garden finds is to saute them and serve over pasta. And of of the best things about this dish, you can easily make it your own. Rarely do I serve it the same way. Use whatever you have on hand! Below, is what I happened to have on this particular day.

Angel Hair with Summer Veggie Saute

2 TBSP olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

dash red pepper flakes (if you like a little kick)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 meduim zuchinni, chopped

1 medium squash, chopped

1 cup diced tomato (can also substitue with a can)

1 cup baby spinach

Angel hair, cooked according to package directions

How to:

Over medium heat, saute the garlic and red pepper flakes. There are few things as good as fresh garlic cooking up!

Next, add in the onion and saute a few minutes. The squash and zuchinni are next in the pan. Allow the veggies to cook and soften a bit before adding in the tomatoes. Cook for another minute or two. Turn off the heat and fold in the spinach. The heat of the vegetables will help wilt the greens.

Now that the vegetables are finished, serve them over the pasta. On this particular night, I had some shrimp I needed to use. So, I seared them with a little lemon juice, butter and cajun seasonining.

This dish is very simple and good. I have even served it as a side. Like I said above, this is really just a method. Throw in any vegetable you enjoy! I love cooking with eggplant and mushrooms.

Enjoy!