Friday, October 28, 2011

Homemade Corn Tortillas

I actually got this recipe off my bag of Masa de Maiz (Corn Masa Flour). These are pretty darn tasty.

What you need:

*2 cups instant corn masa flour
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1 3/4 cups warm water
(This amount will make approximately 16 corn tortillas)

What you do:

1. Combine the masa, salt, and warm water in a bowl and mix with your hands. Add extra water by the Tbsp. to reach a soft dough (mashed potato consistency). Mix for about 4 minutes. Allow masa to sit for 10 minutes.

2. Cut 2 squares of wax paper for each tortilla being prepared. Form masa into 2 Tbsp. size balls. Place a sheet of wax paper on both sides of the masa ball and place in a tortilla press. Lightly press the tortilla to the desired thickness; set aside with the wax paper. Finish making the rest of the tortillas in the same manner.

3. Heat a large non-stick skillet, ungreased griddle or comal over high heat for about 3 minutes. Remove the wax paper from the tortilla and cook for 1 minute per side. Store in a tortilla warmer (if you have one) or a gallon size Ziploc bag.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

This is a really easy recipe for flour tortillas. It took me a few times to get the tortillas rolled into a shape reminiscent of circles, but it honestly doesn't matter what they look like...they will still taste fabulous!

What you need:

*4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 tsp. salt
*2 tsps. baking powder
*2 Tbsps. lard (Crisco...actual LARD)
*1 1/2 cups water

What you do:

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 (about 30 seconds); flip and continue cooking on the other side (about 20 seconds). Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer (if you have one) or a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.




Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Mother of pearl! This stuff is fabulous! If you love pumpkin pie, you will love this oatmeal!

What you'll need:

*1/2 cup steel cut oats (they HAVE to be steel cut oats)
*2 cups unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk
*1/2 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it's "packed" pumpkin)
*1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
*1/4 tsp. ground allspice
*Pinch of ground cloves
*Brown sugar, for serving
*Chopped pecans, for serving (optional)

What you do:

1. The night before you want to have this for breakfast, oil the crock-pot.

2. Combine the oats, milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3. In the morning, stir the oatmeal to get a consistent texture.

4. Serve in bowls topped with brown sugar and chopped pecans (optional...the pecans are, not the brown sugar!)

*A COUPLE OF NOTES:

1. You MUST use STEEL CUT OATS! Instant oats and rolled oats will burn.

2. I don't think it's necessary to use almond milk. This is a vegan recipe, so that's why it was used. I'm pretty sure that regular cows milk will work just as well.

3. The chopped nuts may be optional, but the brown sugar IS NOT. Not unless you like your food extremely bland. The brown sugar adds so much flavor.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice

I made this rice dish for dinner tonight. Everyone LOVED it! When making this dish please keep in mind that I cook for a family of 9 people. So, if you're cooking for a family of 5 you're probably going to want to cut this recipe in half...unless you want LOTS of leftovers!

What you'll need:

*2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
*3 c. white rice, cooked
*1 lb. (16 oz.) Velveeta cheese, cubed
*1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

What you do:

1. Add 3 cups white rice to 6 cups of boiling water. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

2. Cut chicken breasts into cubes and cook in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink.

3. Add the chicken, Velveeta and broccoli to the rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 min. Stir until Velveeta is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

4. Add salt and pepper, to taste.