Homemade Tortillas

What do you do when you're hungry, feeling pretty broke and therefore have no desire to go to the grocery to get ingredients for meals because that requires spending money, and have enough fixings to make tacos? Make tortillas!

We had 1 chicken breast thawed in the fridge, salsa, rice, cheese, and leftover veggie fajitas from our local Mexican restaurant... but no tortillas. I read a few months ago a blog post about making your own tortillas and how easy it was, and I had nothing but time to kill today, so why not?

These are not your usual store-bought tortillas! Those thin, chemical-packed things are a sad excuse for a tortilla compared to these.  Not to mention so much healthier since you know what the ingredients are. And the great thing is you can make your own as thick or thin, or big or small, as you want!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4cup to 1-1/2 cups warm water (I needed nearly 1-1/2 cups of water... I suggest starting with the smaller amount and add more if needed in small increments)

Directions

• Mix the first three ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening, and then add the water slowly to form a soft dough.
• Knead the dough for a few minutes either by hand or by mixer (I did both, but I had issues with the dough being too dry and the mixer made life much easier when I needed to add more water) until it's smooth and elastic. If you've made homemade bread before you'll know what that's supposed to feel like.  Form the dough into a ball and coat it with a bit of oil and let it rest in a covered bowl for 30 minutes.
• Pinch off pices of dough, about the size of golf balls, and roll it out to your desired size/thickness
• Cook on medium heat using a griddle or a heavy skillet, turning to the other side as the top gets bubbly
• Stack on a plate under a clean dishtown to keep warm/steamed/pliable, and then serve with your favorite taco fillings!

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