Homemade Tortillas and Pork Tacos

I've been going through all my foodie magazines recently (which have stacked up ridiculously high!) to pick out recipes that I see myself trying within the next two months. If it doesn't look like something that's going to be tried within the next couple of months the recipe gets looked over and eventually tossed in the recycling bin. Pre-Ally, I would save recipes for the "right" occasion; I've since learned a new recipe will pop up between now and then and I will have forgotten all about the once saved recipe. I've also decided that I am going to be a lot more choosy in the recipes I save in my personal recipe collection...it needs to be REALLY good and something that I will look forward to making again. Well, this evening I found one of those recipes....Homemade Tortillas! I'm not sure what took me so long to make tortilla shells, other than it's easy just to pick them up at the store and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before filling with taco fixings. Now that I've made HOMEMADE tortilla shells, I don't know that I can go back to the store bought version (unless I'm really in a rush to get dinner done quickly!). These homemade shells are thicker than the store-bought variety, but they taste SO much better....they are light and fluffy and not chewy....and they are also great with a little melted butter brushed on top with some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled over the butter...mmmm....do the work once and end up with dinner and dessert! Okay, enough "talk" on to the recipe.....

Homemade Tortillas (ToH June/July 2010)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
3 Tbls olive oil

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in water and olive oil. (You will end up with an extremely sticky batter.) Turn onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 times. Divide dough into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7-in circle. 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. Makes 8 tortillas - 3WWpts.

We used a version of the following recipe as the meat filling for the tortillas...and it was good as well!

Pork Tacos (Women's Day)
2 tsp oil
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1-in cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup salsa verde (green salsa)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (which we omitted....not cilantro fans)
8 tortilla shells
1 cup shredded lettuce
Garnish: diced tomatoes and avocado (optional)

Heat oil in 12-in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cumin; cook until golden brown on all sides about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir salsa into skillet; cook 1 minute or until heated through. Stir in cilantro. Using two forks, pierce and shred cubes of pork. Fill warm tortillas with pork mixture, then add lettuce. Serves 4 - 4WWpts (w/out tortilla shell).

Landscape work...Day 2, 3 and 4...

Wrote May 1st (just never posted...) I think the landscape work is taking a little longer to complete compared to our estimated time frame. We were told that from the time they start, they would be finished within three days. When we returned home yesterday evening (end of Day 2), the workers had the pipe put in the yard for the sprinkler system and a couple sprinkler heads attached. However, we also had a cable guy at the house looking at a broken cable line that will now need to be repaired, along with some drainage pipe. The pipe puller machine must be pretty heavy duty to rip through cable and hard drainage pipe. Luckily we aren't paying by the hour and the landscape company is responsible for repairing any damage! In true Wyoming fashion, the weather has turned cold and windy today and is predicted about the same for tomorrow. So far no workers have shown up today...guess they don't work in the wind?!

Today...May 5th (Cinco de Mayo...are you having Mexican for dinner tonight?)
The landscapers are finishing up day 4...and will be returning tomorrow for what they claim will be their final day. They have almost finished installing the sprinkler system and the sod will be put down tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is a recipe in honor of Cinco de Mayo:
Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
all-purpose flour for rolling

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, and salt. Rub in the shortening by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth. Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked. Tortillas can be refrigerated or frozen.
Note: For white Mexican Flour Tortillas, use the same amounts of flour, but using white flour only. Another variation is to use 3/4, 1 cup, or 1 1/4 of vegetable shortening or lard.