How to make home made flour tortillas....humm!

There is nothing better than eating home made flour tortillas!  However, this is something that people don't do any more because it is so easy to go buy a package at the store but they don't taste as good as home made ones, trust me.  So, I decided to show everyone how to make flour tortillas from scratch and by the old method.  No measuring of cups or measuring spoons but only by sight and hand measuring.  Here is what you will need and process to make great tortillas.

Here is what you need:  flour, baking powder, vegetable shortening and hot water.  You will also need a rolling pin and a griddle.

No measuring cups!  I use my hand to grab flour.  For this batch, I used 6 handfuls.

Use a nice size bowl to make the tortillas.

This is how I grab the flour.  I know, my hand may be a different size than yours but same technique.

This is about 6 handfuls of flour.  Don't know how much it would be using measuring cups.  I tried to measure the flour out by cups but each time it was different, so I gave up.

 So the next thing is baking powder. Again, no teaspoon just the well of my hand and it looks good, say about teaspoon or so? I eye-ball it.

Salt is the next ingredient and I do the same thing, measure it by my well of my hand.  It looks like a teaspoon.

Mix the salt and baking powder together into the flour by hand.

 Now the shortening!  I grab a handful, not the full hand but a good portion for the amount of flour I have.  To much shortening will make the tortillas crumbly so be careful.  Looks like 3/4 of a cup.

Now you mix it all together and it will appear like pie crust and you want it to be crumbly looking.

Now you add the hot water and mix with the hand making sure that all is incorporated just like a pie dough.  How much water?  Well enough to make it in a smooth dough.

Just like this!  Knead it to make it smooth.  Add more flour if it is sticky.  Looks nice!

Now make nice smooth flatten balls like these and now you are ready to roll them out.  I use a little flour which makes it easier to roll them out.  Notice I use a plastic rolling pin. You can use a wooden one or any other thing to roll out the tortillas.  You would be surprise what I have seen people use to roll out the tortillas,a broom stick is used by some people (of course they cut it to their preference).

 

In the mean time, get your griddle nice and hot just as if you were going to cook pancakes.  It needs to be nice and hot.  Too hot will burn your tortillas and a warm skillet will not cook your tortillas at all.

Don't worry if they are not round.  The objective of course is to make them round but a little odd shape is good too.  Don't get hung up on the shape. It will all go down in the same manner as the rest of your food, chewed up but so good!

One good way to judge your dough is if it bubbles up while it cooking, it is a good batch of tortillas.  See the back tortilla, the griddle was too hot but it is still a good tortilla!

Now here are the finished product with a little refried beans...hummm this is good!

Two tacos to go are ready!  Any volunteers to eat these?  Yep, my daughter, Kristy was ready and willing!

 Well, that is the process to make flour tortillas.  Not a hard project but just practice the old fashion way. Of course you can buy the prepared flour mixture and get the instructions on how to make the tortillas from the back of the package, but this is the proper way to make them....eyeballing the ingredients!  End result, great tasting tortillas!  Enjoy!

Oh, I almost forgot, any left over dough can be put in a plastic baggie and used within 24 hours or the next meal.

I grew a watermelon! I am a farmer!

"Green acres is the place to be. Farm living is the life for me...  Green Acres, we are there!"  

Okay, I don't have acres but I have a back yard and flower beds.  I love to see if I can grow beautiful plants, especially flowing plants.  This year, I extended my flower bed to line my back fence and five feet more to the side fence.  I planted various roses and yes, watermelons and tomatoes, bell peppers.  The bell peppers didn't make it but the tomatoes did except the birds beat me to them first.  They'd eat my cherry tomatoes and peck the Roma tomatoes that they would rot.  I have to come to hate birds! Check the following pictures, proof that I grew my first watermelon successfully.

My first watermelon!  Isn't it beautiful?  It looks just like the ones at H.E.B. or Walmart!  I am so proud of my watermelon.

Here's another one that will soon be ready in a couple of weeks.

Here's another one that is kind of shaped funny, looks like the shape of squash but give it some time and it will turn out nice soon.

This is one of newest one, the baby of the family of four watermelons.  Within 3 to 4 weeks, I think it will be nice and big as the first one.

This is how the watermelon plant took over my back flower bed.  Somewhere in there are roses, gladiolas, and several other flowering plants.  I am getting ready of removing some of the watermelon plant cause it is not allowing the rest of the plants to grow.  It looks like I will only  have four watermelons this year.  Just imagine, I just planted a package of seeds and one seed made it and this is what it grew into.  Wow, I am amazed.

Until next time!

Our future Olympic Swimmer

I can't believe it, Emerson Estes, in swim classes at 6 months!  Who would have thought that 26 years ago, I took my daughter, Kristy, to swim classes at 6 months.  Wow!  I can't believe it!

On their way to swimming class.

Emerson listening to instructions and checking out the kid crying. 

"Okay, I got to get the hang of floating on the water, mom don't let go just yet!"

"Relax, think it and do it."  "Thanks mom for not letting me sink."

"This is the life"

"Hey, check out this ping pong ball in the water!"

"What, I am suppose to swim to the ball?  Got it!"

"I am paddling pretty good, right Mom?  I am going to get that ball if that is the last thing I do today!"

"Okay Mom, go with me to get that darn ball!"

"This is my swimming class.  Of course, I am the cute one with the pink hat!"

"Mom and I chilling after our swim class.  This is the life"

As you can see, Emerson is not afraid of the water, in fact she enjoys it.  She even tans well.  I am so proud of my granddaughter and my daughter for having the patience of doing swim classes and just being a good mom.