Homemade Salsa & Tortillas

This is one of our current favorites! I love, love, love the home made tortillas, and the salsa is so refreshing!

We'll start with the salsa:

2 medium to large tomatoes
1/2 large onion (my favorite is a walla-walla sweet!)
1 small bunch of cilantro
lime juice squeezed from half of a lime
1 jalapeno (optional, for spice)
Chop everything up to make a yummy, fresh salsa!

Last year for Christmas I got this Kitchenaid food chopper. It's small, but I love how I can use it to make salsa in minutes!


Because of its small size, I chop each ingredient separately: onions, then tomatoes, then cilantro. We usually cut the jalapeno with a knife.

And here's the recipe for the tortillas:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Either by hand or with a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening till the mixture is crumbly. If the mixture looks more floury than crumbly, be sure to add just one or two more tablespoons of shortening till it is crumbly. Add about 3/4 cup hot water (as hot as you can stand to mix with your hands) to the mixture, or just enough to make the ingredients look moist.

2. With your hands, knead the mixture making sure to rub the dough against the sides of the large mixing bowl to gather any clinging dough. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl, add a couple more tablespoons of flour until the dough forms a soft round shape. The dough is ready to roll out now. Roll into golf ball sized balls. I usually get 13 to 14 balls from one recipe.

Cover with a dish towel and let it rest for half an hour to an hour.

3. Lightly flour your rolling area, and roll each ball with a rolling pin to

about 1/8 inch thickness.
To get a nice circle shape, I press the dough down with the bottom of small cooking pot, then roll it the rest of the way with a rolling pin.

4. Place each tortilla on a medium hot cast iron skillet (I use stainless steel, and have my stove top set to 3 for a good cooking temperature). Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla does not look doughy.


The tortilla will start to bubble on the uncooked side, then its ready to turn over (just make sure your pan isn't too hot or it will burn before it bubbles- click on the picture to make it big so you can see the bubbles)

Your finished stack of tortillas! So tasty served warm. Easily stored in a zip lock in the fridge, then pop them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds on high to re-warm them. They should be soft and pliable.

It took me about 3 times making these to really perfect them. Its fun making them as a team with my hubby! I roll while he cooks, then we can modify the thickness if they seem to thick or too thin as we go.

Our favorite way to eat these is to boil one or two chicken breasts, shred them, and put the chicken, fresh salsa (hubby likes his with jalapeno, I like mine without!) and place on a warm tortilla. Then fold the tortilla in half and enjoy!