Homemade Tortillas

I want to make homemade tortillas in various flavors for a cheaper price most flavors of tortillas around here run over $3 for 12.

• Spinach
• Cheesy Jalapeno
  
• Garlic
• Any other kinds I can think up

So I did a lot of research online viewing various places and various recipes I used 2 recipes to create mine these are the links to the recipes used as well as tips and tricks Spinach tortillas and Tortilla I..



After reading so many recipes & reviews I decided to purchased a tortilla press for a great deal at a local thrift store.




These are the instructions and as well as tips that came with my press




The recipes I reviewed on the net used a few different ingredients in the (Fat area) I chose veggie oil due to 2 reasons I don't eat pork so bacon fat or Lard was not an option plus I never have butter on hand & I prefer to use items that are always in the house.

• Veggie Oil
• Lard
• Bacon Grease
  
• Butter
  

Grabbed a large mixing bowl dropped in

• 2 cups of all-purpose
• A few shakes of salt
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 tsp. of veggie oil
  

Some of the recipes use either water or very hot milk. I decided on the warm milk however DD is lactose intolerant so I also needed to use Lactaid milk in place of regular milk.



Into the bowl w/ the flour mixture went the nice warm milk at this point it reminded me of Pancake batter



This is what the mixture looks like when your trying to get it to hold a shape and mix together




Turned it out on to Knead it for about 1-5 mins until it came together I then let it sit at rest for 10 mins




I had wax paper in the house because me and plastic wrap don't work together so well I think we get together to wrestle.



Golf ball size dough balls is what is suggested




So the goal is to flatten the ball & get a round shape right? How about a little bigger these look like Dollar Pancakes right?




I grabbed my rolling pin yes that nice wooden pin that has been in my house for years that never gets used it was my Nanny's.




While I rolled the dough out I also got my electric skillet turn on to 250-350 *F with no oil in the pan just dry skillet.




This is how they look while cooking. Yes I know tiny I was shooting for 8 in size like burritos but these are more like taco size which is fine for my first time. Being honest I wanted bigger :O)




These are my pretty little tortillas :O) I used them to make layered shredded chicken enchiladas

Spending Jan 2011 part 4

Total 1-8-11 $81.83 from below

Update: 1-12-11

Fresh and Easy $18.20
Fry's $16.11
Quick Trip 4 gas $28.91
Quick Trip 4 cash & soda-$21.30
Orowheat Store $3.56
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Total 1-12-11 $69.88

Pre-cooked Chicken

How to use this product?

Chicken Mushroom Pizza
Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps
Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Mini Shredded Chicken Sandwich

Pizza on a Budget

Deals at Fresh & Easy yielded me a 2 cheese pizza on clearance for $2.19 each I was able to purchase 2 (I could have bought the other 4 and froze them for use later but had no extra freezer space) ** Need to use up more freezer (frozen food)



Fry's clearance deals ( this is one of my FAVE deals) pre-cooked shredded chicken I picked up 3 containers for a total of $5.37 Now to purchase a whole chicken in the meat department uncooked for $5.00 Since I didn't need more fresh homemade broth ( from a rotisserie chicken)



Hit your pantry grab a few extra ingredients garlic powder/Mushrooms/ Italian seasonings and the shredded chicken.




My dd has issues eating Dairy products (She is lactose intolerant however she can eat small amounts of cheese ( less then 1/4 cup per meal)
First-I removed a lot of shredded cheese & transferred it to my pizza why waste it :O) then added all the extra ingredients..



On my pizza I use green onions as well since I had a full mason jar

Spending Jan 2011 part 3

I have to find my receipts and give an update here for the week of what I have spent... I may just post weekly my spending still trying to get this going for the new year..& help me really see how much I OVER spend....


Previous $24 from below...
Walgreens $14.44-$4.44 of misc and $10.00 cash back for small purchases out.

Walmart $4.63- Ice cream

Dollar General $8.76- car cell phone charger

Walmart-$21.00-mini SD card for new cell phone

GoodWill- $9.00 misc with dd
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Total 1-8-11 $81.83 no more until Thur when I get gas for car.

Spending Jan 2011 part 2

Well my mom purchased me a new phone so I needed a new cell phone car charger which was not a planned expense however I shopped around before a just grabbed one off the shelf.. But I did I price comparison and think I got a good deal what you think?

Tmobile Store $24.99
Walmart-$14.95
Dollar Stores- None (sometimes I find things here for $1.00 )
Quick Trip Gas Stations-$11.99
Dollar General Store- $8.00

I grabbed one from Dollar General for $8.00 since my Big Lots was not open until 9 and I was out shopping around 7 am (since I had to work) sometimes Big Lots will have chargers for around $5.00 however I was off to work and since I was not sure if my phone (charge was enough since this was a new phone not sure how long it would be charged hour wise)

What I learned about my new cell phone OH Wait I forgot to tell you what kind I got :O) Samsung Gravity 3 - Marine Blue one of those cute (not so new any more style phone that was so in about 8m-1 year ago )keyboard phones for TEXTING. Love that part makes it so much easier for me at work. Since I text a lot while I am at work since I may not be (desire everyone to hear what I have to say) I can text my family & friends while people around me know NOTHING.... NOSY people... Here is a picture of it :O) ain't it cute as a button..

Southwest Chicken Pie

Well it started off rocky lol as you can see below I found that baking it for 5 mins in my 2 qt circle dish didn’t work so well I rolled out another one and placed that one in my deep dish pie plate that I purchase at a local thrift store for only $2.00 by doing this and watching it start to shrink again I quickly pulled it out and add the other ingredients quickly





Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Well it started off rocky lol as you can see below I found that baking it for 5 mins in my 2 qt circle dish didn’t work so well I rolled out another one and placed that one in my deep dish pie plate that I purchase at a local thrift store for only $2.00 by doing this and watching it start to shrink again I quickly pulled it out and add the other ingredients quickly.

As usual I used ingredients I had on hand plus using more or less as I prefer as well

2 pie crusts

1 cup of black beans w/ onions

1 cup of Pace Cheese Sauce-leftover from previous meal

1 cup of frozen corn

1 cup of frozen green salsa

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup of diced rotisserie chicken-leftover from previous meal

Cumin

Garlic

Verdict=Love it will be a keeper recipe since you can mix and match using what ever crap you have leftover in your frig before wasting it by dumping in the trash so this meal created Zero Waste….

Crockpot Chicken Broth

Slow Cooker Chicken Broth Recipe

Why make homemade broth don’t have time?

I started this at 2pm a little late in the day (I got side track with other things) and it finished about 7pm I cooked it on high for 3 hours and 2 hour on low.

What it is very quick and you really don’t have a lot to do except drop all the ingredients in a Crock-pot and turn it on the strain into containers after it cools

I had a rotisserie chicken that I some meat left on it that I couldn't easily pick off plus I really am only a chicken breast type of person but no waste it not good so this broth idea was perfect

This is what I had on hand to make this recipe

Rotisserie chicken (carcass)

Frozen diced Celery

Dehydrated onions

Fresh ground black pepper

Water

This yielded me 6 cups of nice broth

Saving Green

U may ask why is she posting empty onion bottles? But you may also be asking why do you have them in the first place as they are empty=trash? Well for me that just means they are empty and need to be refilled in my daily world.

At my local 99 cent store is where I purchased this bag of onions to refill the containers

Repurpose Leftovers

I love Naan bread it comes in plain or garlic herb but I only purchase it when it’s on clearance why pay full price when you can just check the day old bread rack? Original price $2.40 paid $1.20 saved $1.20 so I could add the extra money saved into Savings coffee can for future use when needed.

Using up leftover only makes sense to me (why dumb it down the trash?)

When you could be eating this nice tasty pizza for a quick lunch?

Spending Jan 2011

Today I started at the 99 cent store as it is also next to my other favorite store Sprouts where I usual pick up veggies etc. Well I was able to save a lot of money today.

My total spending was $24.00 I purchased a variety of things and I put a back a few as well after thinking things out.

3 packages of diaper wipes

3 bottle of dye free Dish soap

1 bottle of suave shampoo

1 bottle of suave container

2 bottle of Dial Hand soap

2 packages of Bean-o Melting tabs

2 packages of Anti-itch cream



2 package of baby romaine lettuce and 1 bag of spinach




3 bags of roasted almonds these bags are 5.5 oz



2 bottles of Mexican Vanilla
1 package of sliced Crimini mushrooms (never tried these)

Quick Curry Rice

I made this last year lol sounds funny only a few weeks ago... But I was very busy at the time w/ personal family issues that didn't allow me time to post online.

I had been hearing a lot about curry this and curry that well I just wanted to start very small with trying the curry spice and see it is all about.
First what the heck is curry powder Curry powder is a blend of up to 20 different herbs and spices, including the commonly used: cardamom, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mace, nutmeg, pepper, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, saffron, tamarind and turmeric (which gives curry its characteristic golden color). In Indian cooking curry is freshly ground each day (making it far more flavorful and pungent than the mixes sold in the store), and comes in "standard" and "Madras" (hot) versions.

The kind I purchased only listed these ingredients on the label turmeric/black pepper and cumin. Well I used my rice cooker just like I normally would to make white rice but added about ½ tbsp full of turmeric to the water and cooked it

Well it wasn’t bad in taste it was VERY bland…and need a lot of extra help with taste next time I make it I will be adding more garlic and some onions etc.

Spending Jan 2011

Well time to get my Sh*T together yes I know I said that last year but that is my challenge to myself this year. So I am starting with FOOD as it was the best place to start seeing where I could save more GREEN.....

1. I did a complete food inventory of both freezers and all cabinets and create a menu of 20 plus meals Just from what I have on hand.
2. Then pick up needed items for 2+ weeks only fresh items and non-food items (shampoo etc) I currently have milk and bread to use up
   
3. Salad I have decided I need more in my food intake.
   
4. WATCH Spending just because...
5. Set a cash budget of money amount for spending for food or non-food items per 2 weeks $50.00. I will take this money out of my account in cash every pay day in $1.00 bills this will help me not spend as much as I will also only take $20.00 with me at a time.
   
6. Only use dollar bills and all change will go in coffee can.
   
7. Well lets get started shall we.

Menu Jan 1-15

I don't want to get to far ahead of my self right now my family life is crazy for the next 2 months a few changes are I am home alone for 2 months due to a 1972 trailer that doesn't have room to accommodate a wheel chair or a walker my dd who had surgery is recovery at grandma's house where there is A LOT more space to more around. So the currently Food planning etc challenges are as follows.
I work Thu & Fri 12pm-8pm I am work so I need a late lunch & snack then home for dinner and then on Sat & Sun I work 4pm-4 am so I need a dinner and lots of snacks because in 12 hours I get the night time munchies..
On Monday-Wednesday I am running back to grandma's house to visit & Doctor Appointments and errors so my when am I going to be home is all messed up.. This has only been going on a 2 week but seems like YEARS. The first week was just a blur with surgery/hospital stay and trying to work the first weekend after that I was sleep & food deprived so this past week I tried to pull it together & it was worse.. So my plan is to create on Monday a menu for the week or a plan mostly for Thur-Sunday
So bare with my mess for a few weeks..


Jan 2-Homemade Pizza on Naan Bread w/ side salad
Jan 3- Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie w/ salad
Jan 4-Grandma's house Chicken Parmesan
Jan 5-Leftover Southwestern Chicken Pot pie
Jan 6-Neighbor made Homemade Mac & Cheese
Jan 7-Boss bought my lunch Chicken Wrap/Fries/Soda
Jan 8-Leftover from Lunch with DD- Asian Food
Jan 9-Chicken Asian Salad
Jan 10-Chicken & Mushroom Pizza
Jan 11-Meatloaf and Herb Potatoes
Jan 12-Shredded Chicken Enchiladas & Mexican Rice
Jan 13-Leftover Shredded Chicken Enchiladas & Mexican Rice
Jan 14-Leftover Meatloaf and potatoes
Jan 15-Tv dinner & chips and dip

New Year!!!

Ringing in the new year...will post more of my plan....for the upcoming weeks.....