Try My Flour Tortillas and Never-Fried, Refried Beans

 

Homemade flour tortillas and my never-fried, refried beans makes a wonderful healthy lunch or snack.

 

If you love the taste of refried beans and flour tortillas, I want to show you how to cut the fat without sacrificing that awesome Mexican taste while saving money as you serve it on homemade flour tortillas with the two recipes that I have for you today.

Before you start dismissing the idea of attempting to make flour tortillas, I want to assure you that you don’t need to run out and buy a tortilla press.  I have one, but I prefer just using my rolling pin to flatten the 18 little balls in this recipe to get the bigger size that I like.

You get 18 of these flour tortillas from my recipe.

Rolling is the most time-consuming part of making tortillas.  But think of it this way, you will get a stack of 18 tortillas that you can store in the refrigerator for future use.

The day before you want to serve this up, you need to soak two cups of dry pinto beans overnight.  Keep this mind because those beans will never cook in time if you get a last minute craving for these refried beans.

Look at how much  Never-Fried, Refried Beans this recipe makes.

 

My Flour Tortillas

4 cups of flour
1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
½ cup of canola oil
1-1/4 cups of warm water

 

Never-Fried Refried Beans

 

2 cups of dry pinto beans
4 cups of water
1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon of garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

 

To Prepare the Tortilla Dough:

 

Mix the flour, salt, oil and slowly add only enough of that water so the dough will feel smooth and elastic when you form it into a ball.

Divide the ball into 18 smaller balls.

Roll each ball out onto a floured surface into a flat 12-inch circle.  The tortilla will be thin, but you need to be able to lift it and transport to your waiting, heated cast iron skillet or griddle.

You do not grease the skillet or griddle.

Leave it on the skillet until bubbles form, then turn over and cook the opposite side.

Repeat the process until you cook them all.

 

To prepare the Never-Fried, Refried Beans Filling:

 

Soak the beans overnight in the water.  Drain and rinse in the colander before adding fresh water and cooking until tender.  (This will take about three or four hours.)

I found it is easier to use the food processor instead of mashing by hand.  Drain the cooked beans.   Add some of the drained beans  and process them a little at a time.  Keep processing them until everything is mashed.

Add the cheese, salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper and garlic powder next and process until you form a fairly thick paste.

To assemble your tortilla with My Healthy, Never-Fried Refried Beans Filling:

 

Spoon out the amount of filling to cover one side.  I like to fold two sides and then start wrapping from the bottom to roll it up.

I reheat a plate of three filled tortillas in the microwave for about a minute to warm it through.

ENJOY!