Tuesday’s Tasty Tips by Jane Jarrell

I can’t wait to try some of Jane’s “Tortilla Tips”. We love tortillas and always have them on hand. My favorites are Central Market flour tortillas. They have all sorts of flavors for the brave. My kids like the same old, same old plain flour (surprise, surprise!) … heaven forbid a tortilla have a light brown tint (as in wheat), or low fat, or butter, or southwest. Thanks for sharing, Jane!!

Top Ten Tortilla Tips

by Jane Jarrell

The tortilla is your friend. I mean it!! Keep some of those flour thin round pancakes full of versatility on hand and you are good to go.

1. Tortilla Cups. Place six custard cups upside down on a cookie sheet. Spray the custard cups with a cooking spray. Brush a 6-inch flour tortilla with melted butter, place over the custard cup and bake at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned. Cool. Fill the tortilla cup with scrambled eggs topped with bacon or chicken salad topped with crushed tortilla chips. You can also layer the tortilla cups with taco meat, rice, and lettuce, and then top with shredded cheese and tomatoes.

2. Tortilla Cookies. Cut a 10-inch flour tortilla with your favorite cookie cutters. Place the shapes on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Brush the tortillas with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. These little cookies are your friends all year round. In January fold the flour tortilla into fourths, take kitchen scissors and cut triangles in sections around the perimeter of the tortilla, open the folds and you have a tortilla snowflake. In February use heart shaped cutters and red sugar, in March, shamrocks and green sugar. you get the drift.

3. Tortilla club sandwiches Place a ten-inch spinach tortilla on a piece of waxed paper. Spread a thin layer of refried beans on the tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Place a second tortilla on top and sprinkle with shredded chicken and chopped green onions; place another tortilla on top of the stack. Mix 1 tablespoon salsa with two tablespoons sour cream, spread over the tortilla. Sprinkle a layer of shredded lettuce and crumbled bacon, and chopped tomato. Top with last tortilla. Cut into wedges and serve.

4. Tortilla Lasagna. Place a layer of sun-dried tomato tortillas on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. Top with cooked ground turkey. Layer with flour tortillas and top with fresh or canned tomato sauce. Add a layer of ricotta cheese, green chilies, and cilantro. Add a layer of spinach tortillas. Continue alternating layers until your baking dish is full. Top with tomato sauce and shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. Tortilla dumplings. Place 8 (8-inch) corn tortillas on a cutting board and cut into ½-inch strips. Chop a small onion and sauté it with garlic in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 can chopped green chilies and 2 cans of chunk-style chicken. Add cumin and chili powder to taste and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add tortillas and 1 to 2 cups of Velveeta cheese. Simmer until the cheese melts. Serve.

But why only 5??!! You’ll have to tune in next Tuesday for the rest of the story :)

It just all looked so good, I thought we could use a week to try these and let it sink in!

Seriously… Don’t these things look terrific?!

I can’t wait for my kids to get their hands on these.

There’s hope for our dinner!

Speaking of tortillas,

I have to share one of my favorite Dallas tortilla joints to hit the circuit

(in case your kitchen is closed for business).