Tortilla Extravaganza!
By Alice Osborne
Have you seen the “101 Things to Do With…” cookbooks? They are the best, and I just added another to my collection, “101 Things to Do With a Tortilla.” Who’d of thought, right? For about $10, I feel we really get our money’s worth with this handy cookbook.
One thing I found especially nice was the way authors Stephanie Ashcraft and Donna Kelly start their tortilla extravaganza off with their 8 Helpful Hints. I had no idea about some of this:
Corn tortillas, which are a standard 6 inches, must be cooked before being eaten. Flip them every 30-45 seconds, or until lightly toasted.
The 6-7 inch diameter flour tortilla is for tacos, the 8-10 inch flour tortilla is the most commonly used, and the 11-14 inch diameter flour tortilla is usually used for burritos.
Flour tortillas come in a variety of thicknesses. The “gordita-style” is extra thick and is often used in recipes that require baking.
Soften tortillas in the microwave before using and there will be far less cracking or breaking. Place up to 4 tortillas at a time on a plate and cover with a paper towel. Microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until they are soft and bendable. Keep covered with paper towel until ready to use.
Flour tortillas come in several flavors—wheat, whole grain, tomato, and spinach, and they can be substituted for regular flour tortillas in any recipe. Baking times may need adjusting, and the flavor may be slightly different, however.
Tortillas will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Always store opened packages in an airtight container.
Different rolling styles depend on the recipe. Generally, jelly roll style means rolling the tortilla in a tight roll with both ends open. Burrito style means folding the ends in and ten rolling the tortilla in a large roll, with no open ends.
Check baking food 3-5 minutes (before its minimum cooking time ends), if this is a first try with a recipe. Because of oven differences, cooking/baking time can vary.
The “101-ness” of tortillas comes from the variety of ingredients and categories of foods the tortillas are involved in. For instance, they can be used for breakfast foods, in main dishes, in Mexican meals (obviously), and even in desserts, and much more.
Let’s look at a few of the author’s recipes—ones our family has tried and really like:
Confetti Breakfast Bake
(serves 6-8)- Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
- 1/2 C chopped green onion
- 1/2 C chopped red pepper
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (or more, depending on taste)
- 1 C grated cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 C milk, half-and-half (I used my personal favorite, cream)
- 6 eggs, slightly beaten
Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange 6 tortillas in lightly greased 9x13 pan. Tortillas will overlap. Cut remaining tortillas into 1-inch square pieces. Mix pieces with beans, corn, green onion, red pepper, cilantro, and half of cheese. Spoon into pan. Combine milk and eggs. Pour egg mixture over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Bake 60 min., or until eggs are set. Let stand 5 min. before serving. NOTE: One other addition we made to the recipe was adding some browned sausage to the mix. WOW!
Swiss Turkey Spinach Wraps
(3-5 servings)- Ingredients
- 1 large avocado, peeled and seeded (2 small avocados may be substituted)
- 5 large spinach tortillas
- 10 slices deli-cut turkey breast
- 5 slices Swiss cheese
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 3 C shredded lettuce
Directions: Mash avocado with fork. Stir a pinch of salt into avocado, and then spread evenly over tortillas. (NOTE: I also added a pinch of garlic powder.) Lay 2 turkey slices over tortilla, covering tortilla as much as possible. Cut each slice of cheese in half; then lay over meat. Sprinkle tomato and lettuce in center of each tortilla. Roll tortilla jelly roll style and secure with a toothpick. Serve immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for later use. You can easily add lots of chopped veggies to this—fresh baby spinach leaves, yellow bell pepper, green onion, cucumber, etc.
Tortilla Elephant Ears
(6-8 servings)- Ingredients
- 2 C canola oil, for frying
- 8 medium, gordita-style flour tortillas
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 C sugar
Directions: Heat oil over medium heat in frying pan. Fry each tortilla in oil, turning over until light golden brown on each side. Do not crisp. Mix together cinnamon and sugar. Spread sugar mixture on large plate. Using tongs, remove tortilla from pan and immediately press each side of tortilla into sugar mixture. Serve warm. NOTE: We spread them with LOTS of honey butter. Delicious!
Cherry Enchiladas
(serves 6)- Ingredients
- 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
- 6 medium flour tortillas
- 1/2 C butter
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1/2 C water
Directions: Spread pie filling evenly down the centers of tortillas. Fold both ends over filling, then roll up jelly roll style to form enchiladas. Place seam-side down in lightly greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
In saucepan, melt butter. Add sugars and water. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer 2-3 min. Pour sauce over enchiladas.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Allow sauce time to return to room temperature before baking enchiladas. Bake 15-20 min., or until light golden brown. Serve warm with scoop of vanilla ice cream or my personal favorite, sweetened whipped cream. NOTE: Any pie filling can be used, and I also added small cubes of cream cheese to the cherry filling and chopped pecans as a garnish. I’m crazy-nuts about the flavor combination of cherry and cream cheese! These were amazing.
