This weekend I had on my dinner plan to make some soft tacos.  I was planning to go back to the grocery to get the flour tortillas for the recipe, but my week became busy and I forgot about that until the day came and I needed them.  My husband said he would go get some for me, but I told him that I had wanted to try to make some homemade ones and now seemed like a good time.  I had several in my to try folder, but this is the one I picked and they were wonderful.   Tortillas are costly in the grocery, but my recipe uses some basic ingredients already in most pantries.   I also have been buying the pre- packaged taco meals a lot, which are costly and the tortillas are not that good in them either.  I plan to quit buying those.  So, give these a try and start saving money on the tortillas in your favorite recipes.

Tools Needed

You are going to need some essential tools to make these tortillas with this recipe.  First, you will need a food processor to make your dough.  This makes making the dough so easy.  Second, you will need something to roll out your dough like a rolling pin.  You will also need a non stick electric griddle to cook the tortillas.  The griddle stays at one temperature which can sometimes be harder on your stovetop, but you stovetop will definitely work you might just have to watch them a little more closely.  Finally you need some kind of container that will be tight but still breathe.  I like the tortilla keeper, but you could also use Reynolds wrap.  You can even keep them in a zip lock bag to refrigerate leftovers.  I have just found that the Reynolds wrap tended to let my tortillas dry out on the edges, so that’s why I am going to buy a tortilla keeper.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (you could use white, wheat or a combination) ($0.28, I used white)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder ($0.05)

¼ cup oil ($0.38) (I used olive oil)

2/3 cup hot water

 Total cost of ingredients is about $0.71 for 5 tortillas.  I pay like $3 a pack of 8.

 Preparation

Mix all of the ingredients in the food processor.  Mix until you see a ball forming on the sides.  Take dough out of food processor, it will be a little sticky, and form it into a ball and place on a clean surface then cover with a damp paper towel or dish towel.  The damp towel will prevent the dough from drying out.  Let the ball rest for 15 minutes.  Uncover and form into balls of dough.  I made mine into a ball that was bigger than a golf ball and mine made 5 balls. You can make them smaller or larger depending on how big you want your tortillas to be.  Cover the balls with a wet  towel and allow them to rest for another 15 minutes.  Uncover one ball at a time so the other balls do not dry out.  Place a small amount of flour on board, rolling pin and the dough to prevent sticking.  Lay the dough on the board and flatten with your hand.  This will help keep the circle shape.  Then roll the dough starting in the middle and rolling out, do this on both sides and then you may want to flip the dough and roll the opposite way continuing to roll out.  Keep rolling until you get a circle.  Your tortillas will not be all the same and some will barely look like a circle, but that’s okay.  They will still work.  Roll until the tortilla is paper thin, unless you want a thicker tortilla like a Gordilla from Taco Bell.   Place on the electric griddle that has been preheated to 400 degrees or medium high heat.  Let cook until it forms bubbles similar to a pancake and then flip. Place in your tortilla keeper.

 Frugal Soft Tacos

 To make soft tacos brown a pound of ground chuck (found on sale) and then drain and add 7 teaspoons of the homemade taco seasoning found here.  Add about 2/3 cup of water and allow to cook for a few minutes.  Add meat down center of the homemade tortilla.  I like to put my sides in a muffin pan.  I fill two holes with shredded cheese, two with chopped lettuce and two with diced tomatoes.  This makes it easier for people to serve themselves.  There you have frugal soft tacos.

 Cost: 1 pound ground chuck: $1.89 (found on sale), Taco Seasoning $0.10, 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce $0.25, 1 cup cheese ($0.75), 1 tomato (free was from my garden, I had some green ones I picked before the frost and they had turned red), ½ cup sour cream ($0.15),  Homemade Tortillas ($0.71)= $3.85

Note: This post is linked to Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap. Visit there for more great budget recipes.