Taco Monday is a real thing for many people. Many of us LOVE Mexican food and think we’re doing ourselves a great favor by picking up a box of taco shells or tortillas at the store. Those aren’t bad, but if you want to have a tortilla that is soft and flavorful, you really need to try making the simple recipe that our Apples of Gold group made this week in our third lesson! (See recipe below) I also served the girls some Coconut Oil Tortillas I made ahead. These are super good!
My sweet Mexican friend, Sue has been our instructor for these yummy Mexican meals. She cooks her tortillas on her gas stove. I don’t have a gas stove, but I do have a gas grill and have learned that the tortillas cook up so much faster there than on my electric stove top. In our lesson for Apples of Gold I encouraged each lady to use the grill and the stove so they would have experience on both. Wherever they cook up, they are delicious!!
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Whole Wheat tortillas
4 Cups whole wheat flour – You can use all-purpose, if you prefer!
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup warm water – more if needed – I usually end up adding about 1/4 -1/2 more
Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together.
Add oil and mix with your hands until it feels a bit like cornmeal. Add water and mix to make a soft dough that is easy to wlrk with. Knead a minute or so. Divide dough into 16 balls and let them sit, covered on counter for about 15 minutes. Press tortillas with tortilla press (If you don’t have one, you can roll with a rolling pin)
Bake on ungreased heavy skillet or a griddle that is on medium-high heat. Cook them unto brown spots appear and then flip and cook on the other side.
We were also shown how to make Sue’s fantastic Guacamole and Mango Salsa. Yummo! Her guacamole has sour cream and mayo in it, making it a lovely creamy texture. My non-guacamole eating husband loved this recipe! The salsa tasted so good on our tacos!
Mango Salsa
3 ripe Mangos, chopped
1 medium red pepper
1/4 cup read onion
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeno
Juice of 1 large lime – about 1/4 cup
1/4 tsp salt, to taste
I found a recipe for Mexican Corn Salad that we all loved and I will definitely keep on my “Taco Monday” menu! It was super easy and had enough Mexican spices to make it taste perfect, but not hot at all. Here’s is my adapted version.
Mexican Corn Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cups corn kernels – I used frozen corn and it was great!
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, then finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped, plus more for garnish – I used parsely
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup Mexican sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder plus more for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
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Melt the butter in a large pan over medium high heat.
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Add the corn to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes or until lightly charred. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Let the corn cool to room temperature, then place it in a bowl with the red bell pepper, onion, jalapeno and chopped cilantro/parsley.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, cumin, smoked paprika and chili powder.
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Pour the dressing over the corn mixture and toss to coat.
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Salad can be stored, covered in the fridge, for up to 8 hours before serving.
You could add black beans to this, too. It would be perfect for scooping up with tortilla chips. I used it as a side dish.
We enjoyed a royal Mexican feast!
We also enjoy Flan for dessert, prepared by Sue. It’s one of my husband’s favorite desserts now!!
Our lesson was on Loving Your Children. We talked about the Biblical roles we have as parents, and the practical things we can do to make their childhood memorable, fun and biblical. On Wednesday I’ll be sharing some of the details of those lessons, along with my fun tablescape just for kids! I hope you’ll come back and check it out!
In the meantime, why not make some tortillas and enjoy Taco Monday?!
With love from my country kitchen,