I’ve been wanting to make my own flour tortillas for quite some time but I was afraid they wouldn’t quite turn out. I finally decided to dive right in and give it a try and I was really surprised at how easy they are to make. They may be a little time consuming to make on a weeknight, so I suggest blocking out at least 30 minutes on a weekend just to roll out and cook them. But, it’s well worth it! (I’m going to research and find a tortilla press soon.)

I’ve found a few different recipes that use unbleached flour, grain mill and wheat flour but all I had on hand was all-purpose flour, so the next time I make them, I may just try using one of those ingredients.

The ingredients needed for this are so simple. In fact, you probably already have everything you need: flour, salt, baking powder, canola  or vegetable oil, and water.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Makes: 12 tortillas

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups hot water
• taco seasoning for tortillas

Here’s one of my favorite quick Mexican meals. This recipe is great because it keeps things easy, inexpensive, plus it freezes very well. So of course you could make them as a make ahead meal and freeze for a future meal. These burritos have refried beans, Spanish rice and leftover chicken from our Chicken Lime Tacos the other night, then then the burritos are blanketed with a lightly spiced tomato sauce.

You can change up this recipe any way you want depending on your tastes or what you have on hand. Add some grilled vegetables, leftover chili and rice, shredded beef or pinto beans.

 Smothered Burritos

Ingredients:

SAUCE

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup Restaurant Style Blender Salsa, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup tomato sauce

BURRITOS

• Leftover Refried Beans
• Leftover Spanish Rice
• Leftover Chicken
• 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
• sour cream (optional)

Directions:

To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salsa, tomato paste, cornmeal, chili powder and garlic powder. Mix until smooth Stir in the tomato sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

To make the burritos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the sour cream among the tortillas, spreading it down the center of each. Top with refried beans, then Spanish rice and lastly the chicken along with 3/4 cup of the cheese. Fold the sides of each tortilla over the filling and face seam side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Other ways to change this recipe:

• use refried black beans
• use ground beef or no meat at all
• add cooked onions and peppers for a more “fajita style” burrito
• use green salsa

A versatile and nutritious Corn Salsa that goes great with any Mexican dish or transformed into a great tasting salad.

Corn Salsa

I don’t know why I like this salsa a lot, maybe because it is so good,  or because it has so many versatile uses and it is really nutritious and good for you.  You can decide why you like it.

I like to make a big batch of this, which is the recipe below, so you might want to half it if you are only going to use it for one meal. Here are a few ways to eat this:

• Chicken Tostadas with Corn Salsa
• Add black beans for a Black Bean Corn Salad and serve as a side dish
• Use as a salsa and serve with pita or tortilla chips. Black beans would be great in this for salsa too. (That recipe coming later)

Corn Salsa

 Makes: 3 cups corn salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Serve corn salsa with grilled meat or poultry.

Ooh, this is so good!  I love to make a big batch of corn salsa up and make this recipe before it’s gone . (Believe me, the corn salsa you could simple eat by itself. )  I like this recipe because it  fits very well into my make ahead meal planning strategy. You can make the chicken breasts ahead of time by tossing a little salt and pepper on them and cook them in the oven.  If you want, you can driizle a little BBQ sauce or Taco sauce over the top before placing them in the oven for a little more flavor. Once they are cooked, let them cool and store them in a ziploc container for later in the week.

The tostada shells are just as simple to make and could also be made earlier in the day or night before and stored in a ziploc bag until your ready to use them. You could easily use up your leftover shredded chicken for this meal or cook a whole chicken in the crock pot then shred it and use for this meal and another meal later in the week. Easy peasey.

Chicken Tostadas with Corn Salsa

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
• 6-8 flour tortillas (homemade recipe coming this week)
• lettuce shredded
• Corn Salsa Recipe
• shredded cheese (optional)
• Restaurant Style Blender Salsa (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

Directions: 

1. To serve, put a tostada shell on the plate and top with shredded chicken, lettuce and some corn salsa.

How To Make Tostadas:

Take your  flour tortillas and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of vegetable oil and spread on with a pastry brush. To give the tostadas added flavor, sprinkle with a little bit of taco seasoning. Bake at 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.

Need ideas for your weekly meal plan? It’s time for another weekly menu.  I enjoy menu planning because of  the simplicity it provides for my life. It enables me to decrease my grocery shopping excursions to twice a month and it allows me to  have more free time to focus on my family and home. For ideas in the weekly meal plan, we’ll be focusing on a variety of family meals. You’ll find the recipes on the weekly meal plan also available on my Recipe Index page with a grocery list included.

My Weekly Meal Plan

I am absolutely loving all these fresh produce sales! With all the sales at the grocery store and the local Grower’s Market, we are getting our fill of fresh veggies all week. Plus I will make things out of the leftovers throughout the week to keep from cooking every single night! Lastly, I like to use a little help from my homemade bottled sauces, to keep things super simple. I’ll talk about some of those later in the week.

My weekly meal plan and shopping list is completed and posted on our fridge:

Breakfasts Will continue this week to include our Healthy Eating and Living for Families meals. Getting off to a good start with high-quality, low-fat breakfasts. If you’re in a time crunch and you’re morning is a rush, plan your breakfast the night before. These recipe ideas will be posted throughout the week (some of them I didn’t get to post last week): Hash-Brown Potatoes with Rosemary, Individual Fruit Hotcakes, Orange-Current Scones, Whole-grain toast or a bagel with jam and a piece of fresh fruit, Brown Rice Pudding with Fruit, maybe some Whole-Wheat Buttermilk biscuits with nonfat yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, or skim milk with fresh fruit.

Lunches are usually a bit more flexible, but this week we’ll start off with a  Thai Cucumber Salad, Crispy Steamed Vegetable Salad, BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Black Bean Taco Salad.

In addition to our weekly menu, we have a baking day on a weekly basis. Every Sunday afternoon, we will rotate through restocking some nutritious snacks and baked goods, such as granola, protein bars, granola bars, muffins, and/or biscuits  for various meals.

Dinner (recipes will post throughout the week)

Sunday: BBQ Ranch Chicken Tostadas with Corn Salsa and Restaurant Style Blender Salsa, Corn Salsa Recipe

Monday: Smothered Burritos with rice

* I double the rice I’m putting inside the burritos and save half to pour Roasted Vegetables over tomorrow night!

Tuesday: Roasted Veggies with Chicken over Rice

* Perfectly marinated, broccoli, zucchini, squash, carrots, onion, red and green bell pepper tossed with a splash of olive and canola oil and garnished with shredded Parmesan cheese (optional).

Wednesday: Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce over Spaghetti and Meatballs served with a fresh green garden salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Thursday: Chili Cheese Pie served with Easy Black Beans and Veggie Platter

Friday: Stuffed Pizza, Light Caesar Salad

* Two crusts, three cheeses, and a harvest of tasty vegetables – what could be better?

Saturday: Grilled Chicken with Corn on the Cob

Free Templates

Weekly Meal Plan and Shopping List

What’s cooking at your house this week?