Tortillas & Taco Casserole

I love tortillas. I bake my own bread and am trying to eliminate any packaged foods I do buy and tortillas are one of them. So, for Christmas this year I asked for a tortilla press. Thus far it has been heavily used! Homemade tortillas tend to come out a little thicker and smaller than store bought ones so I've turned to taco casserole as a topping. By baking everything together with cheese it is easier to fill the tortillas with and less messy.

Making tortillas is actually really easy and not as intimidating as it sounds. I highly recommend a tortilla press! Rolling them out is not easy because the dough is very elastic. Next, you'll need to buy some lard. Some grocers keep it in the freezer near the butter and some put it on the shelves near the Crisco. I'm a fan of the Snowcap brand. Lard may sound extremely unhealthy but you're only using a tablespoon and it eliminates the need for any oil to cook them in.

Tortillas
(Makes 12-16)

2 cups flour
3/4 cups water
1 tbsp lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Taco Casserole
(Serves 4)

1 pound ground beef
1 can light kidney beans (15.5 oz)
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1 avocado
a little bit of chopped lettuce if desired
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne

I make the taco casserole first. In a pan brown the ground beef.  Once browned add the cumin, onion powder, salt, oregano, bay leaf, and cayenne. Stir to incorporate everything evenly. Pour the ground beef (pull the bay leaf out) into a casserole dish and spread to cover the bottom. Next, drain the can of beans and toss them into the same pan. I like to heat them up and squash the beans a little. Once the beans are warm, dump them into the casserole on top of the beef. Top with the cheese. Dice the avocado and toss that on top. Chop some lettuce and set aside. Put the casserole into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes to melt all the cheese and keep it warm.

And now tortillas:

In a mixer, blend the flour, salt, baking powder and lard. The lard will crumble into the dough. Slowly add the water and mix until the dough is smooth.

Roll the dough into small balls the size of a large marshmallow (or a Barbie head). It's easiest to roll them in flour. I use a $1 serving plate from the Dollar Store so that I don't have to clean the counter after.

I have the toddler help me put the ready to go tortillas on another serving plate.

Put a pan on the stove with the heat on low-medium. Next, put a piece of plastic wrap on both sides of the tortilla press. Place on of the dough balls on the bottom and press!

You want to peel the plastic gently off of the tortilla. Put it in the waiting pan. It takes less than 2 minutes per side to cook the tortillas.

Take out the taco casserole and assemble your tortillas. Top with the chopped lettuce and sour cream if desired. Enjoy! (We also spread leftover tortillas with Nutella & chopped bananas for a great toddler breakfast.)

Trick to Mincing Ginger & Homemade Ginger Syrup

I love ginger. And it's not just because my son is the most handsome ginger I know. 

Here he is patiently waiting for his food at a farm to table dinner at Half Pint Farm in Burlington. He wanted me to shave him a mohawk and the kid has a funny ridge in his head so we ended up with an abstract one :) 

Ginger is a great ingredient- it makes it's appearance on our table frequently and after googling and researching we will try to grow some this summer. For now I pick up copious quantities of it cheaply anytime I can make it by Haymarket in Boston. Apparently, it's also known to have inflammatory characteristics and can possibly prevent skin cancers. Wow, yummy medicine!

I'm a little lazy though. So one day I decided to put it through my garlic press, because mincing ginger is not a favorite task of mine. Perfection. Not only did I yield way more ginger juice in the recipe but all of the fibers stayed in the press. And for you visual learners here are the pictures to prove it:

Put the piece of ginger in the garlic press. Don't even bother peeling it. However, I'm not going to lie, it's  easier if you peel it.

Holy ginger juice! That would have been wasted all over the cutting board.  Now take a knife and run it over the ginger hanging off the press. Anything that comes off easily will be used in your recipe. The stubborn fibers will remain.

If it didn't come off easily then don't worry about it. It's too tough to use and you're better off without it. 

This dry compacted fiber is what I took out of the press and composted when I was done.

Hope this helps you in your culinary pursuits! Read on for a ginger syrup recipe to make your own ginger ale.

We own a SodaStream. It has changed our life (and our finances). My husband drinks seltzer like it's going out of style and I hate buying soda. We don't drink a lot of soda but this past week the warrior princess had chicken pox. Joy.

In the early 30 count phase. Pox covered doll was a family joke. 

All the memories I have of being sick when I was younger revolve around getting to have ginger ale, a big deal in our soda-free household. So while home caring for the pox-covered princess I decided to take the pound of ginger I had recently purchased and make soda syrup. 

I used about 6 oz of ginger which looks like this.

Peel the ginger.

Slice it lengthwise into thin slices. 

Start a pan of simple syrup going over low heat. Use equal amounts of water and sugar. I used 2 cups of water & two cups of sugar which yielded a pint of finished syrup- one pint jar & a little bit to sample.

Once the sugar has melted into the water add the sliced ginger & simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Store it in the fridge for up to two weeks. I love using a little of this in hot water with sliced lemon for a great cold-fighting ginger tea. You can also drizzle this over ice cream or over fruit.

Ginger-y delicious. Enjoy! We use roughly 1/3 cup per liter of soda- adjust to your taste.

Just be warned that this stuff is so yummy it may induce a happy ginger dance.