Taco Shells

Taco Shells

I can't imagine living in a world without Taco Shells. We use them for everything. If I want chips I just dry them out in the oven as soon as I am done cooking them. You can soak them in lime juice, you can choose to do what ever you want to a taco shell and make it into a chip. No more buying chips laden with who knows what... and you can control your salt intake. Plus taco shells freeze extraordinary well. You will never know that they had been frozen. All you have to do is take one out (because they don't stick together) and heat it up real quick on the griddle.

Recipe:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup warm water
• flax seed (if you want to) I usually add 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed 

Sift flour, add flax , Mix together. Add oil and then your warm water. Stir it together.... and then knead.
LOTS.... about 10 minutes..... punching the dough down and turning it inside of  itself and then flipping it over.. and doing the same. After about 10 mins cover it with saran wrap. and let sit for 30 mins.

dough ready to be made into taco shells

Now comes the fun part! you can choose what size shells you want to make..... and or if you are just going to make chips you can roll the dough out into what ever will fit your griddle and oven. Nothing fancy with rolling just for chips. But if taco shells are your thing ... I'll be honest sometimes I roll all diff sizes from the same batch.

For instance if we need shells for Chimichanga's I'll roll shells that are as big as a dinner plate, and  if we are making taquitos in a few days  I will also roll little shells that are square out of the same batch. The point behind this is: You are in control of what the shell is going to be. If its just a taco shell you want you should be able to get 9-12 shells. (it depends on how well you kneaded the dough)

lightly floured

Again though, when it comes time to roll shells you never want to roll towards you... so roll away from you and keep turning the shell and flipping it over. I will post a video of what I mean. I roll all of mine one after another so they are ready to be cooked, making sure they each have a little flour on them (so they don't stick to each other) and then cook them in one setting. Heat your griddle up and they only take about 30 seconds on each side if you have the right heat.

rolled out

* If you are making chips it will depend on if you have added anything liquid to them. Otherwise 325 degrees till they are done. If I have added lime juice ( or whatever it may be)  I usually go about 275-300 and let them dry out otherwise you might end up with a chip that will not be crispy  for long.

ready to be cooked 

Something else I should add is this I use a cast iron griddle and highly recommended getting one for yourself. Teflon is gross and adds a weird flavor to your foods and in the air. We only have stainless steal, cast iron and a wok in our kitchen. Nothing else for cooking. Oh, and I need to mention and NO aluminum pans.

Alas, I have a video of the taco shells cooking but I can't get it to upload. So once it finally uploads I will post it.

Happy Taco shell making!