Beans ~n~ Tillas

This is a long time staple in our home. I have been making these tortillas for almost 14 years. A little Mexican lady taught me how to make them and I have taught many other moms how to make them over the years. I made a big batch this week to take on our trip ~ they keep well and will make easy snacks.

The original recipe uses unbleached white flour, but I have found it still works great with a combination of fresh ground whole wheat or corn flour and unbleached white flour. I have made them 100% wheat as well, but they are not as "flexible". {Note: I triple this recipe!}

• Add 2 cups flour (I used half organic corn flour and half unbleached for this batch) to your mixing bowl (or KitchenAid) and 1 tsp salt (a bit more if you use RealSalt).


• I use the paddle attachment to add 1/4 cup oil. (I use olive oil, but organic corn oil would give it more of a corn taste ~ I used corn oil for years until I quit eating genetically modified corn)


• Mix until it resembles cornmeal.

• Make a hole in the center (dough hook works nice for this) and pour in 3/4 c. warm water

You will need to scrape down the sides.

• Mix until the dough cleans the side of the mixer or until a soft dough forms.

Do you love my apron? :p You can see my growing belly, too. =)

I was taught to roll it into 12 small balls and place in a plastic bag to keep moist until they are rolled out, but I place the dough in a bowl and cover it with plastic to keep it from drying out.

• Pinch a ball of dough off and flatten (use a little flour if it is too sticky). To roll a nice round tortilla, roll once, flip, roll again, flip back and roll one last time.

They are always better if you roll them thin!

• Cook on a medium-medium high cast iron griddle. Cook for 30 seconds, flip, cook for 1 minute, flip back and cook for 30 more seconds.

If you use all white flour you can roll the cooked tortilla in a ball and it will not tear. It is not so flexible with whole wheat, but still soft and yummy.



To cook the beans. . . I presoak (with 1T lemon juice) overnight or do a quick soak (bring beans and water to a boil, boil for 2 minutes then let sit for 2 hours), then (drain, rinse, added more water)* and salt and cook until tender.



*I go through periods where I skip this step to conserve water. If we were in "hard times" and had to conserve water, I would cook the beans in the same water that they soaked in. I've tried it several times and cannot really tell the difference!



I love Sue Gregg's Best Burrito Beans (they have onion, cumin, green chiles, etc in them) but my husband likes them plain.  I serve them with shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream or homemade ranch . . . but, sometimes we just eat plain old beans ~n~ tillas and that's it!