Incredibly Easy Homemade Tortillas

I have had making homemade tortillas on my to-do list for a long, long time.  Someone once told me it was easy but I apparently wasn't convinced enough to try.  We use tortillas a lot around here for sandwiches, quesadillas, and tacos so I'm not sure why it too me so long to brave the task!

Last night my husband was unexpectedly home early for dinner so I wanted to come up with something to make other than leftovers.  I had some ground turkey, shredded cheese, lettuce, homemade salsa, taco seasoning, nacho chips, and ONE tortilla.  Tacos?  My motivation to have tacos was high but my motivation to go to the store was low!  Desperate times call for desperate measures so I took to Pinterest to find a tortilla recipe and chose this one.  It's funny.  Even when the recipe told me it would be easy, I still didn't believe it.  But, I told my 3 year old to get ready to work, grabbed the ingredients (everything I had on hand, and you probably do too), and got started.

Friends, this may have been the EASIEST thing I have ever made!  It was so easy that I kept doing that  whole "apology in advance" and "no promises" thing to my husband.  In the back of my mind I was coming up with back-up plans.  This had to be too good to be true... But it wasn't!  Please hear me when I say that I will never, ever pay a PENNY for tortillas again.  These were easy, delicious, fresh, and cost me nothing.

I love finding new treasures right in my cabinets that I never knew I had.  And I love finding things that I can make myself and add to my "never buy in the store again" list!

Perhaps the best part of this project is that sometimes tasks seem even more daunting when I think about doing them with a 3 year old.  I love having her help me in the kitchen because I know that I'm encouraging really good things in her when I do.  But, I have to be honest and say that some things just are going to be more complicated with little curious, excited, and sometimes reckless hands involved!  This recipe was absolutely perfect for 3 year old hands and it actually was a help to have her!

Anyway, here's how to do it!

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 5 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

Directions:

• Mix flour and salt in medium bowl (you could get away with a medium bowl but I recommend large if you're mixing with a 3 year old!)
• Add shortening to the bowl and mix together with your hands to work out all the clumps (you'll be done when there are no more large clumps of shortening)
• Pour in very warm tap water
• Use a fork to stir until a dough forms
• Put the dough on the counter and knead until you have a soft dough (the original recipe said 10-15 minutes, we probably did a little less, but this is SO fun for your little one, it's like squishy playdough)
• Roll the dough into a log and separate into 12 equal pieces
• Roll the pieces into little balls 
• Put the little pieces in a zip lock bag in the fridge for 20 minutes - 2 hours
• After removing from fridge, flatten a ball in your hand and then roll out on a floured surface into a thin round tortilla (flip and turn as you roll to make an even circle, doesn't have to be perfect)
• Place tortilla in a heated frying pan (medium heat, you will know it's hot enough because it should sizzle a little when it hits the pan)
• Leave the tortilla in the pan for 30 seconds and then flip (it will bubble a little the first time, but try to push it down flat with a spatula after you turn it over so it cooks through)
• I had to play around with the heat a little bit to keep from burning, but you'll get into a rhythm after the first or second one 
• Remove from pan and place in aluminum foil to keep warm

Enjoy!

You can find the original recipe here with extra tips and pictures!