Meat free Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Fishy Fridays – I have been making a weekly menu plan for our family meals for 7 years now.
I started before Bear and Bee were born and I must admit it was a whole lot easier back then to decide what we were having for dinner each night. Now that I need to take into account the tastes of two slightly fussy children, my meals choices are more limited than I would like them to be. So to make meal planning easier each week, while also attempting to include a little variety in my children’s diet, I have designated a different cuisine or type of dish for each night of the week. As the three listed above we also have Stir Fry Wednesday, Pasta Thursday, Self-Serve Saturday and Slow Cooker Sunday.
Taco Tuesdays are my daughter, Bee’s, favourite. She loves both crunchy taco shells and soft tortilla wraps. Bear and hubby prefer to eat the soft wraps with their taco fillings so I decided to try making homemade tortillas. The tortillas we buy each week are pretty healthy but if we use them in lunches too we end up going through a lot of tortillas and the cost quickly adds up.
The recipe I use to make the tortillas is budget friendly and simple too.
It is based on a recipe from The Café Sucrè Farine and it is the best one I have found so far. I usually use my stand mixer to make the dough but if you don’t have a stand mixer that’s okay. Mixing by hand works just as well, plus it means you can get the kids involved as well!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Makes 16
Ingredients:
- 3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup warm water (lukewarm like a baby bath)
To make:
1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
2. Add the oil and water and mix well until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
4. Shape the dough into a sausage shape about 40cm long.
5. Divide the dough in half and half again and so on until you have 16 pieces roughly the same size.
6. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it out with the palm of your hand.
7. Cover the dough pieces with a clean tea towel and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
8. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
9. Working on one at a time, roll out each dough piece on a lightly floured surface (or try a tortilla press if you are making a big batch). Try to get them nice and thin.
10. Place the dough circle into the hot frying pan and cook for 1 minute or until a few golden brown spots appear on the underside. Some bubbles will also start to form on top.
11. Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds. If the tortillas are browning too fast, turn the heat down a little.
12. Remove the tortilla from the pan and place in a large zip seal plastic bag or covered container. This will keep them flexible and warm.
13. Repeat steps 9 to 12 with the remaining dough circles.
14. Serve warm with your favourite taco fillings. We love this chicken tortilla filling.
Hints & Tips:
These tortillas freeze well too making them great for busy nights and they even work as pizza bases. To freeze the tortillas, allow them to cool completely then layer each tortilla in between plastic wrap or freezer paper. Place in a zip seal plastic bag and then into the freezer.
Calories
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Save RecipeIngredients
- 3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup warm water (lukewarm like a baby bath)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the oil and water and mix well until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.
- Shape the dough into a sausage shape about 40cm long.
- Divide the dough in half and half again and so on until you have 16 pieces roughly the same size.
- Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it out with the palm of your hand.
- Cover the dough pieces with a clean tea towel and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Working on one at a time, roll out each dough piece on a lightly floured surface. Try to get them nice and thin.
- Place the dough circle into the hot frying pan and cook for 1 minute or until a few golden brown spots appear on the underside. Some bubbles will also start to form on top.
- Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds. If the tortillas are browning too fast, turn the heat down a little.
- Remove the tortilla from the pan and place in a large zip loc bag or covered container. This will keep them flexible and warm.
- Repeat steps 9 to 12 with the remaining dough circles.
- Serve warm with your favourite taco fillings.
Maree Mortimer is mum to 5 year old twin girls who love to cook. After working as a secondary Home Economics teacher and a teacher librarian in primary and secondary schools, she took time off to raise her daughters. Maree believes that as food and cooking are essential for a healthy life, parents need to be encouraged to cook with their children as much as possible. You'll often find her family spending time together in the kitchen - re-connecting over food and trying out new recipes and ingredients.
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