Tacos Made from Scratch

There's nothing truly original here, but these are so good, I had to blog them so that I don't have to hunt the recipes down every time I make them. I make the tortillas, taco seasoning and salsa from scratch. And, these beat anything you could buy at a restaurant and they are tons healthier. They are not super fast to make, it takes me about 90 minutes start to finish. That includes chopping everything and rolling out and cooking the tortillas. The kids enjoy helping make the tortillas. I don't often make the tortillas from scratch because they take the most time, but they are worth the extra effort.

Whole Wheat Tortillas
The full recipe can be found here:

3 C of Soft White Wheat Grain should make approx amount of flour below.

In large mixing bowl combine:
4 1/2 – 5 C fresh ground Soft White Wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
Mix together

1/4 C oil (canola, vegetable blend, or olive)
Drizzle half of the oil over the top of dry mixture. Mix with either forks or pastry cutter until almost a fine powder, then repeat this procedure until oil is gone.

1 1/2 C warm water
CAUTION – you MAY NOT end up using all the water. Drizzle half over the top of oiled flour and mix – should still be dry. Now while mixing drizzle down the sides of the bowl, turn bowl occasionally to make sure all sides are drizzled. Continue mixing (not necessarily pouring water) until a soft dough is formed. It should be moist and slightly gooey to the touch.

Plop dough out on a piece of cellophane cut long enough to form it into a tube (should be about the diameter and length of an inner cardboard of a paper towel roll) cover and let sit in fridge for up to 30 minutes.

While tortilla press (or griddle) is heating divide into equal balls shaped like hockey pucks. Using a gram or oz scale to weigh the total dough and then each ball will make them uniform. We usually hit it at about .48 oz each ball. Always press the ball that you first made first and work your way through the line of dough balls in that order. The setting of the hockey pucks helps the tortilla hold together better.

Salsa (found the recipe here)

• 2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes (6-7 medium tomatoes)
• the leaves from one bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped*
• 6 cloves fresh chopped garlic
• 1/2 an onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• about 1 tablespoon lime juice

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor.

*If you grab a handful of leaves from the top of the bunch and pull them out firmly, you will get mostly leaves. If a few stems are in there, it's okay.

Taco seasoning (found the recipe here)

I liked this recipe for its low sodium content.

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons dried minced onion
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  

Mix all ingredients together. Brown 1 lb. extra lean ground beef or turkey. Pour taco seasoning mixture over meat and mix and warm through.