Homemade Tortillas

I'll admit right now that I got this recipe from homesick Texan and tried it out tonight. I made Fajitas for dinner but realized that I only had 2 tortillas left. I am SOOO glad that I googled this awesome recipe. I have tried homemade tortillas a couple of times in my life and they have always been delicious, but this was my first solo "go" at making tortillas (which I guess are actually more accurately Texas Tortillas. One word for Y'all- "Yum". So I don't make my own bread, but after tonight I am considering never or rarely buying tortillas in the future.


This recipe is originally from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, "They are perfect for sopping up beans, wrapping around fajitas, grilling with cheese or just eating warm with butter and salsa." We took a couple extra and put a little butter and cinnamon sugar. Delicious.

"Purists may sniff at the recipe and argue that leaven and lack of lard make these inauthentic. Perhaps. But remember, we’re talking Tex-Mex. And in Texas, if you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating flour tortillas hot off the griddle at a restaurant, or bought the fresh ones made by local tortillerias sold at the grocery store, then you will agree: these are the real deal. Oh yes, these are Texas flour tortillas, indeed!"- Homesick Texan

Texas Flour Tortillas (adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)
Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.
Slowly add the warm milk.
Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.
Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.
Makes eight tortillas.

Volcano Lovers

Molten Lava Cake

Ingredients:
pecans and coconut
cake mix
eggs and oil (as specified on cake mix)
cream cheese
butter
powdered sugar

Directions:
Sprinkle bottom of a 9x13 cake pan with about 1/4 c. coconut and 1 cup chopped pecans
Prepare any kind of chocolate cake mix according to box directions and pour over pecans and coconut.
Melt 1 cube butter and 1 8oz. package cream cheese together in microwave. Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar.
Pour cream cheese mixture over chocolate layer. bake according to cake directions. (I've found that the cake takes 10-15 minutes past the lowest baking time, but I like to start checking earlier just to be safe). Just keep your eye on the cake and try not to take it out too soon.

* We really like this cake, and it has a little bit of a fancier feel than just a regular cake. Justin likes it best cold, I don't know yet how I like it best.

The real recipe I think I'll make for Easter

Sour cream lemon pie is my husband's favorite pie. This is the recipe that looked the closest to the one we like from a local pie shop. I think I'll use a regular crust instead of Graham cracker crust to give more of a regular pie feel than a cheesecake feel.

Sour cream Lemon Pie

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/4 C. graham crackers crumbs
1/4 C. sugar
4 Tbs. butter, melted

Cream Cheese Layer:
12 oz. cream cheese
1/3 C. sugar
1/3 C. sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. Knox gelatin
1 Tbs. cold water

Lemon Topping:
1 1/2 C. water
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. fresh lemon juice
4 egg yolks beaten
5 Tbs. cornstarch
1 Tbs. grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. butter

Directions

To make crust, mix all ingredients together and shape in a 9" greased pie pan. Bake at 375 for 6 - 8 minutes remove from oven and cool.

To make cream cheese layer, combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and salt in medium sized pan and cook on a very low heat stirring constantly until mixture starts to boil lightly. Mix gelatin with water and dissolve. When dissolved add to mixture along with vanilla and stir well. Cook until mixture reaches a light boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool off. When it's luke-warm layer cream cheese on crust and refrigerate until cooled.

To make lemon topping, place water, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt and lemon peel in a sauce pan and whisk until mixture comes to a boil at medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes until thick. Pour 1/2 hot mixture in beaten eggs slowly and stir constantly. When the mixture is completely blended pour egg mixture in to the hot pudding stir and cook until the pudding reaches boiling stage. Stir and let boil slowly for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat add butter and vanilla stir and set aside until cooled off. When lemon mixture reaches room temperature gently smooth it over the cream cheese mixture and chill for several hours before serving. Fresh whipped cream may be added for garnish.

Easter Pie- the recipe I think I'll make

Marie Callender's Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Lemon Filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
dash salt
1 cup water
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and sugar in a small bowl. Press the crust mixture into an 8-inch pie pan.

Prepare the cream cheese filling by mixing cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla and an egg using an electric mixer. Mix well until smooth. Pour cream cheese filling into graham cracker crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is cooked. A knife stuck in the middle of the filling should come out mostly clean.

As the pie cools, make the lemon filling by combining 1/2 cup sugar with cornstarch, salt and water in a small saucepan. Set mixture over low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring often.

Whisk in egg yolks, then add lemon juice and butter. When mixture simmers again remove it immediately from the heat.

Pour the lemon filling over the cream cheese filling, and let the pie cool. When cool, chill pie in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Slice into 6 pieces to serve restaurant-size portions.

Reuben Swirl Rolls

*I just tried this recipe and LOVED it. I'm usually not a big sauerkraut fan but this really is delicious. If you are too afraid to try the sauerkraut, I've heard it is also great with any kind of cheese and deli meat.

Reuben Swirl Rolls

Ingredients:

• 8 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
• 1 ½ tablespoons Thousand Island dressing
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 cup sauerkraut
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 pound thinly sliced corned beef
• extra Thousand Island dressing for dipping, if desired

Method:

Spray counter with non-stick cooking spray. Combine rolls into a ball and roll into a 9x13-inch rectangle. Spread dressing evenly over dough. Arrange cheese slices evenly over dressing. Sprinkle with sauerkraut, caraway seeds and pepper. Top with corned beef slices. Starting from a long side, roll up jelly-roll style. Using a serrated knife, cut into 8 slices. Place cut side up on a sprayed baking sheet (if they start to unroll, secure with toothpicks). Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise 30-45 minutes. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with extra dressing for dipping, if desired.