Corn Tortillas

If you hadn't noticed, I have a particular fondness for Mexican-inspired foods. Perhaps it's my Southern California upbringing, my Mexican best friend, or that the food from down south is just so dang delicious that it can't be ignored!
So far i've shared:
Easy Mexican Rice
Flour Tortillas
My mildly-famous Salsa Verde
Black Bean and Corn. . . casserole?
And of course, one of my meals that started my adventure in really, truly cooking, Chicken Tacos, or TacOdasso's as we so fondly call them.

Today I want to share something so ridiculously easy, you won't believe that you haven't made them before. Unless of course you don't have a tortilla press. Then it's possible to believe why you haven't made them.
Corn Tortillas!
Don't be scared though. You do NOT NEED a tortilla press. It just makes them into such perfect little circles! A rolling pin would work just fine. If you are interested in a tortilla press, however, here is the one I own. Trust me, once you have one, you will find every excuse to use it every chance you get.



By the way, there are some things that once you go homemade, you can't go back. I have jam and rolls on that list. Now, I also count corn tortillas. :)

Corn Tortillas

Ingredients:
2 Cups Masa (Corn Flour) -I don't know where you live, but here in Utah I found this super easily at my neighborhood Smith's. It was on the top shelf in the baking aisle by the flour. The bag was only $2.39 and will make about 132 tortillas. 132!!! Can't get much more economical than that.
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups of Water.
3/4 tsp Salt

The pictures are really bad today. I snapped them so quick and without much care because I really just wanted to make them and eat them as soon as humanly possible. :)

Add 2 cups of masa and the salt to a large mixing bowl and mix. You can just use your hands. No need to dirty a spoon or whisk.

Next pour in the water and continue mixing with your hands. Start with 1 1/4 cups. You want the dough to not be sticky, to all come together, and not be too dry. You can test this by grabbing a small portion, rolling it into a ball, and flattening it between your hands. If the edges are really cracked, the dough is too dry. Slowly add more water, up to 1/4 Cup more until it's good. I used a full 1 1/2 Cups.

Divide your dough into 16 balls and press them one at a time in your tortilla press. Stick it between two sheets of plastic wrap or a cut-up freezer bag. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out with a rolling pin, still using the plastic.

They come out as perfect little circles! Keep the dough covered while you are using it. It dries out fairly quickly and leads to cracked tortillas. Just keep your dough balls in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap. Also, peel the plastic away from the tortilla. Do not try and peel the tortilla away from the plastic. Does that make sense? Peel off the top layer of plastic. Flip it over, and peel away the bottom layer of plastic.

Heat a skillet over medium high-high heat and cook each tortilla for about a minute on each side.

Keep the finished tortillas on a plate covered with a dish/tea towel. This keeps them warm and pliable.
And there you have it! So easy, right?! Extremely simply, extremely cheap, and extremely tasty.

Here is my insanely over-exposed picture of one of the chicken tacos we made with these tortillas. So delicious, I had one for breakfast this morning. :D