Flour Tortillas

Though homemade tortillas take certainly more time to put together than buying a package of eight off the shelf, the taste and cost difference makes them absolutely worth attempting.  Though it is not easy to make them perfectly round (M has done a far better job than I have making it work) these homemade tortillas will work for anything you want to make with them--including delicious homemade chips.  The reason I took an interest in learning how to make these is because for a budget conscious household (I have mentioned that we only spend $30 a week on groceries right?) foods like beans, corn and rice are relatively cheap sources of nutrients.  Many Americanized Mexican meals are simple to prepare as well, and so take less time and less money.  And M and I are both big fans of spicy food.  Foods like burritos are also easy to customize--I am a far bigger fan of cheese than M--so everyone is happy.  And, best of all, most elements of the dishes we Americans are accustomed to--burritos, enchiladas, etc.--have elements that are easy to make at home.  Flour tortillas, enchilada sauce, taco seasoning...all of these can be made at home with ingredients we already have, and for much cheaper than buying them in the store.
This recipe was adapted from this one.  I looked at a lot of recipes before deciding which one to try out and ultimately chose this because it uses oil rather than shortening.  (I hate shortening for some reason I have never been able to properly explain or understand.)  I have made it three times so far and though it surprised me by how easy it was the first time, I definitely have been getting better at it the more I do it.

Flour Tortillas (Makes 10):

• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup of water

Mix together in a medium sized bowl until a dough is formed.  With your hands, divide the dough into ten like-sized balls.  Roll each ball flat into as round a shape as you can manage with a rolling pin on a heavily floured surface.  I found that it helps to flatten the ball into a circle with your hands before using the pin, and to constantly flip the tortilla over as you go to keep it from getting too sticky.

Heat a pan (M prefers a griddle, I prefer a large frying pan) until very hot.  Carefully place the uncooked tortilla in the pan, and leave until just browned.  Flip over and then remove from the pan.  (Our smoke detector always goes off at this point.)  This has to be done VERY quickly--I find that seven seconds for the first side and then five for the other side is ideal with our stove.  Any longer, and you have a tortilla that is a little blacker than you originally hoped for.

Not all of the tortillas will turn out perfect--in fact in my latest batch one folded over and I did not get to it in time so it split down the middle when i was trying to flip it over--but that is not a problem!  Any messed up or slightly undercooked tortillas are perfect to make chips with, or even enchiladas.  They can still be absolutely delicious just the way that they are.

Enjoy!

Rice in Parmesan Sauce with Broccoli

This recipe has become one of our go-to dishes when there is not much food in the house.  I do the grocery shopping and to make $30 stretch for a week we buy a lot of basics to make many things out of--in this case butter, milk, rice and frozen vegetables.  I love frozen veg because it lasts forever and when it goes on sale it is super cheap.  It also takes less than 15 minutes to make in total so it's easy too.
We always buy brown rice, going through enough that I have to buy a big bag almost every week.  Rice is great because it is one of those things you put on the stove and then just leave for an hour or so, leaving you free to do other things.  Brown rice is super healthy, and (in my humble opinion) far tastier than the white stuff.
The key to this recipe is the white parmesan sauce.  I was always terrified of making white sauce because my mother warned me growing up of how important it is to constantly stir or it will go wrong.  When I finally bit the bullet and tried it for myself, though, I found that it was shockingly simple.  It's not exactly the healthiest addition to any meal, but I make it with skim milk and it works just fine and still tastes creamy.  It's also spectacular because of how flexible it is--you can add just about anything to it to make it perfect for just about any meal.  In this case we added parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
A note: for recipes like this I just eyeball lots of the ingredients, so the amounts here are approximations.  Feel free to play!

Rice in Parmesan Sauce with Broccoli (serves 2 as main dish or 3-4 as a side):


1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Put one cup of rice and 2 cups water in a small pot.  Heat on medium-high until you can hear it boiling--about 7 to 10 minutes--and then leave on low heat for about 40-50 minutes more.  Put the frozen broccoli in another pot with just enough water to almost cover it and cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked.  Drain and then chop into smaller pieces.  Set aside.  (It's okay if it gets cool--the parmesan sauce will keep everything nice and hot.)
About 20 minutes before the rice will be done, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until bubbling.  Remove from heat and add milk, mixing thoroughly.  Return to low-medium heat and stir constantly until bubbling.  Let simmer (while stirring!) for 1-3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix rice, parmesan sauce and chopped broccoli together.  Serve while warm.

Glazed Sugar Muffins

I have a weird thing about muffins.  I love them, but I like them simple most of the time.  They have to highlight one ingredient, not three.  My favorite are raspberry muffins with so much fruit that you can barely taste the cake, but in a pinch I will take them stuffed with raspberry jam.
These muffins are not stuffed with anything, but they do highlight a single ingredient just like I love them.  That ingredient is sugar.  These sweet--but not too sweet--muffins are best made just a little bit small so that you don't over do it with them.  A bit of nutmeg brings out the sweetness, and the buttery glaze makes them taste very much like doughnuts.  It elevates them beyond a simple muffin into to something just a little bit more.
I adapted this recipe from two others I found online. Fruit is expensive and on a $30 weekly budget, I can't always spring for bananas or raspberries, so it is always useful to have muffin recipes that use only the simple staples in the cupboard.  I recommend eating these with a strong cup of coffee and a good book.

Adapted Sugar Muffin Recipe (Makes 12 Muffins):

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix together in a bowl flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sugar.  Add egg, milk and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Grease muffin tin and fill with slightly less than 1/4 cup per muffin.  Bake 15-20 minutes (mine took 16) until a toothpick comes out clean.  Leave to cool in muffin tins for five minutes, then on a wire cooling rack for ten minutes before glazing.

Adapted Muffin Glaze:

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp hot water

Mix the ingredients into a small, shallow bowl until smooth.  Dip the muffins into the glaze individually top-first.  Let the glaze dry then dip again.  When the glaze has dried for a second time, enjoy!