Tortillas and sopaipillas

We just made these tonight and it just made me miss New Mexico so much. I would have loved some green chili. But alas, I can't make that. Here are some yummy recipes for some good NM food!

This is from this website. It also has a link for some tools to make the tortillas. Bonus! http://www.texasrollingpins.com/tortillarecipeprint.html

Flour Tortilla Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Instructions:
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening.
Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned
way and use your hands.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do
not need very hot water.

Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

This is a good time to heat up the comal. You will want to set it at medium to high
heat. If it is too hot the tortillas will cook too fast.

Now you can roll out the dough with your tortilla rolling pin or palote. It is a good
idea to dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Lay the palote
in the center of the dough ball and roll up, center and roll down. It is good to lift the
dough and turn it. Again, rolling pin in the center and roll. Roll them out fairly thin.

Lay your tortilla on the hot comal. It takes just a few seconds to cook. Flip to the other
side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles. Place them in a
towel. If you would like you can use a tortilla warmer to keep them warm longer.
They are ready to be served!

If you need any of the equipment to make flour tortillas, try our authentic tortilla kit.

It is well worth the effort to make homemade tortillas! Enjoy!

Sopaipillas (I got this from a church cookbook. It is by Ida Peabody)

6 c flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c canola oil
1 pkg dry yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 c warm water

Stir sugar into warm water. Add yeast and let stand until it bubbles. Add salt and baking powder to flour. Make a well in the flour mixture. Add oil and yeast mixture. Add enough warm water to make firm dough. Let rise for 30 minutes or more. Shape dough into balls. Roll and cut into any shape you like. Deep fry in hot canola oil. Drain on paper towels. Eat with powdered sugar or honey. Makes about 24.

Lentil Soup

prep:25 min cook:20 min

1 c dry lentils rinsed and drained
1 c chopped green pepper
1 c sliced carrots (2 medium)
1/2 c chopped onion (1 medium)
2 t instant chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t dried sage, crushed
1/8 t ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz fully cooked smoked sausage links quartered and sliced

Directions: In a large pot mix all but sausage and add 5 cups of water. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes until veggies and lentils are tender. Stir in sausage and heat through.

Makes about 7 cups (5 main dish servings)

267 calories per serving, 11 g total fat

My thoughts: I prefer using ground sausage. I just brown it after I get the soup going and then add it when it is browned for the remainder of the time. It just seems to go farther since the pieces are smaller. I'd rather get a lot of bites with a little sausage than a few with a lot of sausage. And some ground sausage varieties have great seasoning too. I don't put in the pepper because my boys don't like spice, but I put red pepper flakes in my own bowl. And if you really want the flavor to pop, don't be afraid to add a tiny bit of salt and lots of pepper. :)

It can be frozen, but it cooks pretty fast from scratch too. You can have the veggies frozen and pre-chopped to make it even faster.

Blackberry Cream Pie

We had a huge bag of frozen blackberries from out trip to the orchards, so I wanted to make a pie with them. I found this recipe and we made it last week when my parents were here. It was wonderful! We just did a lattice top instead of a crumb topping. I wonder if it is freezable....

***Update*** We followed the recipe this time and it was sooooo good. Forget the lattice and just follow the directions. :o)

1 (9 inch) pie crust, unbaked
4 c. fresh or 16 oz. frozen blackberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt

TOPPING:

1/4 c. bread crumbs
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. melted butter

Put blackberries in pie crust. Cream together next 4 ingredients and pour over blackberries. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over pie. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Delicious served with vanilla ice cream.

Chicken (or beef) Tortilla Casserole

This is super easy and freezes well. I made it for Darrica last week, so she can tell you if it's any good. ;o) I grew up eating it and it was a family fave. There are two versions - chicken or beef (ground or shredded).

I usually cook without measuring, so bear with me! lol...

You will need:
Tortilla chips (I use the white corn - doesn't matter - leftover, stale, it's all good)
cooked shredded or cubed chicken - leftover is fine - about 1 1/2 cups (substitute beef if you want to!)
1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom for the beef version)
1 can drained rotel tomatoes (if you don't want the spicy kick, use regular diced canned tomatoes)
1 small bag (approx 8 oz) frozen mixed vegatables - pop 'em in the microwave to thaw. Yes, you can use fresh if you've got the time, but I would steam them first since it doesn't cook long. Any veggies are ok but I like the carrots, peas, and corn mix.
Shredded cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Crush tortilla chips into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Crush enough to cover the bottom.

In a bowl, mix chicken, cream soup, drained tomatoes, steamed veggies, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Spoon over chips.

Cover with more shredded cheese and more crushed tortilla chips.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Freezer alert: If you want to freeze it do so before adding the final layer of tortilla chips on top. You can do it when you are ready to bake it. That way they stay crispy.

This recipe easily doubles and is great with leftovers.