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Refried Beans and tortillas

On Sunday I decided to cook homemade tortillas and refried beans. I make burritos for my Love's work lunches, and am tired of buying canned refried beans and bags of tortillas. I figured that not only would this be a fun learning adventure, but perhaps I could save a bit of money in the long run.

The refried beans were very easy to make. I rinsed some raw pinto beans, picking out any bad beans or stoney bits. Then I boiled the beans for about 2 1/2 hours - until they were soft and the skins coming off. Before draining off the water, I saved a cup of it.
I returned the beans to the burner, adding some olive oil, chopped onions(previously sauteed), garlic, cumin, kosher salt, pepper, and paprika. While simmering together I mashed it all up - adding some of the previously saved bean water when the mixture seemed to get dry - until it was all a thick paste.
Pretty easy recipe and it tastes great!

The tortillas proved to be a lot of work, even made me break into a sweat! The recipe I followed stated it made 10-12 tortillas... perhaps if I were making tacos. However, I was making burritos and managed to get about 5 or 6 tortillas out of the recipe. They did taste wonderful, but I think until I've had a few more sessions making these, I don't think I'll be making these for Bry's lunch every week.

If anyone has some tortilla recipes/tips, I would be much obliged. Is one flour better than another? Tips for softer tortillas (less flaky)?

I think today I will try making another loaf of bread!

<3

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Comment by Christine Marie on May 7, 2009 at 8:35am: Thank you so much for the tips, Trell. The homemade press is a great idea, as rolling them out is a lot of work.
Last night's tortilla try went a little bit smoother. I actually used wheat flour this time and they tasted great. I think if I use wheat again, I will make homemade hummus to put on them - I think they'd be perfect for that.

Comment by Trell Johnson on May 6, 2009 at 5:57pm: A hand crank pasta machine should work fine. A tortilla press can be simply made from 2 flat sheets of wood and a hinge... Line the bottom piece with plastic wrap. place a dough ball in and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. Press and repeat. It really speeds up the process.

I suggest you use a flour tortilla and slightly steam it before you roll up the burrito. Corn tortilla's are for taco's. Excellent homemade flour tortilla recipe and method at

http://www.texasrollingpins.com/tortillarecipe.html

Comment by Christine Marie on May 6, 2009 at 5:00pm: I rolled them out... *whew*! I am actually going to attempt them again tonight.. we'll see if it's a bit easier now that I know a little bit better what I am doing...

and YES! I am hooked on doing it myself. This is just a start, I know it will progress into even more CIY/DIY projects!!

Comment by Cornelia on May 6, 2009 at 2:47pm: Don't you love being able to make those food that you KNOW are traditionally chock full of stuff you don't want to eat? Nice!
I've been wanting to make my own corn tortillas... did you use a tortilla press or did you roll them out? I don't want to buy another kitchen toy, and I was thinking maybe my hand-crank pasta "machine" would work well?
What was your recipe?