Totally EASY tortilla’s! Who Knew?

Oh my gosh I am so excited!

I just got through making homemade tortillas and they are fab-u-lous!

Having grown up in Arizona, and having really good in-law chefs

that cook truly authentic Mexican food , I am a known tortilla snob!

I absolutely HATE those store brand waxy things they pawn off as

tortillas in the grocery store. If the tortilla is shiny, there is

something wrong with it! Okay off my box !

I used the following recipe from A Sweet Chef with a few

changes typed in blue

Homemade (Flour) Tortillas

Makes 14-16 large flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup lard (or vegetable shortening I used this! ) plus 1-2 tbsp., as needed
1 cup hot water

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine both types of flour, baking powder.

Drop 1/2 cup lard into flour mixture and, using a pastry cutter, or two butter knives,

cut lard until it crumbles and is evenly dispersed in the flour.

I added my salt to the hot water to dissolve first ( as seen in many other recipes)

Slowly add the hot water and stir together until mixture sticks to itself.

If not quite moist, add 1-2 more tbsp. lard, as needed. Knead,

in the mixing bowl, for 3-5 minutes or until dough forms a ball and becomes less sticky.

Cover bowl with tea towel and let rest for 1 hour.

Break the dough into 14-16 smaller pieces and roll the pieces into balls.

Cover balls of dough for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a well-floured rolling pin,

roll one dough ball at a time into a thin, round tortilla.

Make sure the ball is rolled out to be very, very thin. Carefully place onto the hot skillet and

cook until bubbly and golden, about 30-40 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and continue

cooking until golden on the other side.Wrap the cooked tortilla in a clean tea towel until ready to eat.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Serve immediately or, once completely cool, store in an air-tight bag or container.

To warm, wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds or wrap in foil and warm in oven.

Why have I not tried this before? Well, I have heard two things that discouraged me;

One: “they are really hard to shape”

Two: “they come out too thick”

While I can admit that it will take me a bit of practice to perfect the

shape of my tortillas, I had NO trouble getting them to the right thickness.

I was shocked at how easy and quick these came together. Now, I need to plan a weekend

where I make several dozen and freeze them to make good use of my time.

I found that they taste wonderful,  and are healthier with the use of vegetable shortening

and no preservatives. Not to mention they are a fraction of the cost when you

consider a dozen in the store is running about $3.50 a dozen! If

I did the math, I can bet that this dozen was less than a dollar!

Best of all, my Hubs was super impressed!

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Cinnamon Rolls -Pudding in the Mix!

My Husband is a Danish Man..

No, I am not Danish!… He loves pastries of all kinds.

Well, I nearly fainted at the price of the “cheap,”

danishes at the store the other day. I refused to buy and went

straight home to make some really GOOD cinnamon rolls.

Not only was it rewarding it turned out to be a family activity!

Adapted from the recipe found on a million things I love

ROLLS

1/2 cup warm water

7 teaspoons dry yeast

1 1/2-2 tablespoons sugar

1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding (and 2 cups milk)

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups flour

1 1/2 – 2cups butter, softened

3 cups brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved; set aside.
In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions.
Next, add butter, eggs and salt; mix well, then add yeast mixture; blend.

Gradually add flour; knead until smooth.

Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap until doubled.

Punch down dough and let rise again.

Next, roll out on floured board to 34 x 21-inch size.

Take  softened butter and spread over surface.

Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over top.

Roll up very tightly - Cut into 20 rolls

*Tip : use dental floss to cut the dough! it ensures evenly cut slices that stay round!

(we like minty fresh!)

Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart; lightly press down on each roll.

Be sure to roll tight. Cover and let rise until double again.

Bake rolls in a preheated 350F oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they just start to turn golden.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk until smooth and fluffy.
Frost warm rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Now, tear it up!

Since this truly made 20 rolls we flash froze 15 of them and then

individually wrapped them in plastic wrap and placed them in a large freezer bag.

You can leave one on the counter to thaw the night before

or  throw one in the microwave in the morning.

Either way… So delish! 

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As good as Pop Biscuits!

Fresh or Freezer Biscuits

I have always known that biscuits are really not that

difficult to make from scratch and that they are quite fast and

cheap too. Therefore, I am ashamed to admit that I have

relied on what my family calls “pop” biscuits for the

past 16 years of my marriage. They too are fast,

have multi-uses and in the past, were cheap.

In the most recent, they have climbed in price and as I

try to cut the preservatives, and pre-prepared foods out

of my family’s diet, my pop biscuit habit needed to be addressed.

I was attracted to this recipe due to the fact that it was freezable!

Ahh the convenience  of of the pop biscuit but even better

because I can make as many or as little as I would like.

 

Freezer Biscuits

4 C flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 C butter
16oz sour cream
3-5 tsp water

Melted butter

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl or your food processor. 

If using food processor, pulse until butter is small and well blended pieces or 

cut in butter by hand using a pastry cutter. 

Add in the sour cream and water and mix well. 

Pulse again until well mixed.  Add more water if it is too dry (just a little at a time.) 

Knead a few times on the counter and roll out to 1 inch thick

Use a biscuit cutter to cut or dip a drinking glass into flour and cut.

*** See below for some fun ideas other than traditional round biscuits***

Freeze individually on a cookie sheet.

After they are frozen, place in a freezer bag to store.

Use as needed.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 for 15-17 minutes or until top is golden.

Twice during the baking process baste the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.

I found this recipe on Your Homebased Mom and on The Sisters Café

 

 

I love baking with my three year old Son. He is really learning a lot and

I am finding there are very few meals he can not help me in some way.

The following idea came directly from one of his suggestions.

 

*Valentines Day Tip: Biscuits and gravy make a great breakfast in bed idea!

My son and I were making up some biscuits and he asked if we could make

stars like we did at Christmas time with our sugar cookies. Then

the thought occurred to me ! Hearts! Hearts for a Valentines day

breakfast. You can try blueberries, strawberries and cream on top

of the stars instead of gravy for the 4th of July!

I think they turned out great and my son loved them too!  

MMMM Scrambled eggs fresh fruit and some fun biscuits and gravy! 

Now, where is my Bed?

**** Opinion on Freezer version. I did not find that I got the same beautiful

results from my frozen biscuits as I did when they were fresh.

The taste was there, but not the fluffiness. So what I suggest is

letting your biscuits thaw first before baking!

 

Linked up: * Sundae Scoop Tuesday Talent Show

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Birthday Brunch

My favorite meal is breakfast!

I like to start my day right. This brunch was for my husband’s

birthday but it was also because we had my nice, her husband,

and her two adorable kids over for the weekend…..

A perfect excuse for a brunch!

 

I have decided to start a new category called “Because of YOU!”

I love blogging and I love being creative and doing my

own thing. I also believe in giving credit where credit is due.

There are many things in blog-world that simply are

great as is and I want to try them without any

changes, but then I also want to share the experience

on my blog as my own.

So this is my first “Because of YOU!” post

Thank you to

Real Mom Kitchen

and her

Overnight Blueberry French Toast w/ Blueberry Syrup 

(Real Mom Kitchen is a new fave of mine. Take some time

to check her blog out she is amazing!)

I have to say this was an amazing breakfast dish.

I was afraid that it may come off as too sweet but it

was perfect, even the syrup was not that sicky-sweet, that

some syrups turn out to be.

French Toast:

12 slices bread, cut into cubes (french or Texas toast work well)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

12 large eggs   1/3 cup maple syrup

2 cups milk (I use 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)

1. Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes.
3. Top with remaining bread cubes.
4. Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
5. Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
6. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden.
8. Top with sauce. Serves 8.

 

When I made the syrup I made a double batch to

add to my Very Vanilla Cake layered thank you gifts

featured here. What I did not tell you is that as we

finished the Very Vanilla cake off we poured the left over

syrup on the cake too. Wow what a great combo!

Blueberry Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 Tablespoon butter

Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened.

Stir in blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add butter and stir until melted.

Not only was this simple and fast but costs about an 8th

of what you would pay in the store!

   

(sorry for the poor photo quality it was about 3 a.m.)

I paired this scrumptious casserole with sausage patties,

Scrambles eggs and a simple fruit salad! Add a little

Mother Nature and a simple table cloth and you

feel like you are at a bed and breakfast in the country!

 

Isn’t it funny how small touches like a table cloth or

eating outside makes life wonderful!

Linked up:

Be different Act Normal    day and age design  six sisters stuff

*Iheartnaptime- Sundae Scoop

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