While we all look forward to days off and home-cooking, who knew we would be spending so much of 2020 stuck inside cooking?? It's 6 months into this new normal in our house and we have begun to form new habits when it comes to our food. My family is learning to serve only what they can eat, expanding the list of foods they're willing to try, and (most important!) how to use leftovers.
Whether you self-quarantined at the first news of a worldwide pandemic or you waited until you were forced to stay home, by now you're probably running out of ideas for what to make for breakfast, lunch, dinner...snack...snack...and more snacks! Now that school is back in session and our district is utilizing remote learning, I have had to prep more meals than ever before. I am working from home most days of the week and I've realized it's time to start being creative and thrifty.
I've got some great news for you. Our tortillas and chips satisfy both creativity and thriftiness. You can stock up on one package of flour tortillas, corn tortillas, and tortilla chips for meals you can easily throw together at any time of day. One package of our 24 or 30 count Gorditas flour tortillas can be used for 4-5 meals. They're a great substitute for bread which can be a welcome change. Corn tortillas and tortilla chips are also so versatile that you can easily create several meals on the fly without much fuss. So read on to see some of my favorite ways to use our La Tapatia or Sol de Oro products during this unprecedented time.
Let's Get it Started...
When you're tired of the usual frozen waffles and cereal bit, give our corn tortillas a try. One of the easiest ways to start your day is with a breakfast taco. Add some scrambled eggs and breakfast sausage or bacon...you can't go wrong. For all our vegan friends, skip the eggs and just add your favorite legumes and veggies. All the usual taco toppings will add layers of flavor. Use our Original Recipe Cooked Corn Tortillas or the Sol de Oro Super Grande Yellow Corn tortillas. If you have a partner or kid with a big appetite, you may consider a breakfast burrito. Same fillings, different tortilla. Our Gorditas or Burrito Size flour tortillas make this easy peezy. Breakfast burritos can also be made and wrapped in plastic, then frozen for future use. If you have athletes, this is a great meal prep idea. Anyone else have staggered school start times?? Burritos are perfect for prepping once and then wrapping in foil so each person can eat when they're ready. My mom made burritos for my sisters and I throughout high school. I often ate mine in the car and on the way to class each morning!
Is it lunch time yet???
During a normal work day, I find myself either shocked that it's two hours past lunch or agonizing over the fact that it's not yet noon. But when you're home and not on a schedule, you might want to give yourself a little treat at lunch time. Grab your corn tortillas and bake yourself some tostadas.
Now, let's say you have some chicken leftover from dinner the night before. A great way to use your leftovers (OR that Rotisserie Chicken you grabbed during your last grocery run) is Chicken Tostadas. Stack them up, eat them one by one...whatever makes you smile. It's a nice lunch treat but can also be a grand dinner. One of our favorite restaurants serves their Ahi Tuna Tostadas stacked three high and we love them! Tostadas are great for dinner on busy nights, and wonderful for parties.
The Sandwich Alternative
We have all heard of Wraps. That's what we call our tortillas when we wanna just wrap them around anything and everything delicious, no matter if it's Mexican food or not! Sometimes we need an inexpensive potluck item, OR sometimes you're on your millionth at home lunch and out of ideas! Try any of your favorite sandwich ingredients on our Sol de Oro Low Carb, High Fiber Tortilla/Wrap and it's like a good old fashion lunch box treat. If you're willing to play with flavors, we suggest our Low Carb Pinwheel recipe. The flavors mix together well and you can make lots of little pinwheels to snack on all day...or at a party whenever we can gather once again.
You just ate 10 mins ago & you're hungry again?!
Most parents can relate to this. With such tiny bellies it's amazing how often kids ask for food. When you're stuck at home, it seems to be like clockwork...every 30 minutes someone is rifling through the pantry. (To be honest, I snack all day if I'm home!). We've got a couple of great ideas for snacks. A super simple option for your kids is our Berrytilla with Nutella. We warm our Golden Sun Berrytilla, then add Nutella and fresh, sliced strawberries.
It's so good, you won't believe your taste buds. These exclusive tortillas are sold in our Retail Outlet and online. How about a Whole Wheat tortilla with Pb&J? Add strawberries or bananas to that and it's a fun twist on the usual sandwich. Our Berrytillas are multigrain with rolled oats, certified vegan, and include natural strawberry and blueberry fruit juice. Our Whole Wheat is an excellent source of Omega-3 and 97% fat free. Both tortillas are healthy snack options for sure.
I Got it From My Mama
Now, when you're really short on time and need a quick bite, I have two staples from childhood that I still love. My mom, (aka, my boss and the Nana) still makes both these dishes when we are all on vacation together and for family get-togethers.
First is the quickest nachos you'll ever encounter. Let's call them Nana's Nachos. Simply spread a bag of chips on a cookie sheet and top with shredded cheese. If you want to go the extra mile, spread half the bag, top with cheese, then spread the next half on top and add more cheese. Broil in the oven until cheese is melted. If your broiler has high and low, we suggest high AND move your sheet to the bottom rack. Watch the nachos closely because the cheese will melt quick! Serve these immediately. Top with salsa, guac, or sour cream if you have them on hand. This is also doable in the microwave for a single portion. Warm 30 seconds at a time until your cheese is melted.
The next dish ranks really high up on my favorite all time Chip dishes. It's something my sisters and I (all grown women now!) still beg my mom to make. Seriously, if you've never had Chilaquiles, you're in for a treat. This is a dish made with either strips of corn tortillas or tortilla chips all smothered with red sauce and cheese. I'm partial to the chip version because that's what I grew up with. So that's what I'm going to share with you all. You won't believe how wonderful the flavor is! Nana usually makes this for breakfast when we are all over for brunch. We have a big Mexican brunch with chile verde, tamales, beans, eggs, bacon, potatoes and...CHILAQUILES!! However, it's a perfect stand alone dish as well. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Since Nana is working from home full time now, I had to facetime her to get this recipe. (I told her to smile and wave and then she gave me a stern warning lol!).
As the boss of our company and the mom of four daughters, she is used to being extremely busy every day. Needless to say, she has a very hard time staying home and was happy to give me the recipe info via Facetime. Which reminds me, when you're done trying these recipes, Facetime your mama and wish her well! Click here for the famous Chilaquiles Recipe.
What's for dinner???
The dreaded question. As I'm working on this, I just got asked the dreaded question from my 9-year-old. As a working mom with 4 kids of my own, I get texts and phone calls all day asking this same question. I even started a family meal calendar to put a stop to the texts. But that's one more thing to be on top of so it's been a bit shaky.
When it comes to dinner with tortillas, you really have so many options. Taco Tuesday is definitely a winner right now. Simple ground beef tacos are a hit in my household. Both our white corn or yellow corn tortillas will be great for this.
I avoid frying my tacos by brushing my tortillas with a little olive or avocado oil and warming them on a comal (or griddle). Every time my kids make their simple taco, they say "mom take a picture" because they know mommy likes pictures of tortillas!
One final idea I want to share is a Pizatilla. This is one of our old favorites and is super easy for kids to make. Flour tortillas of any kind are great for pizzas like this but we have found that our Roti and Low Carb make an amazing pizza base. But like I said at the start...buy a pack of 30 Gorditas and you can use some for breakfast, some for lunch, and now some for an easy dinner. Here's my Roti Pizza in the oven...yum!
And here's a BBQ pizza made with leftover turkey. Use any leftover protein and you've got a new, easy meal with this recipe.
Tortillas made fresh daily
That's definitely more than a day's worth of food but hopefully I've given you some ideas for how to use your tortillas when you've got a lot of cooking to do. Other great ideas are Tostada Bowls (check out our Instagram for an easy way to make these), and Everything Nachos. Our tortillas & chips are very inexpensive, many of them provide whole grains, calcium, and fit into special diets like gluten free, vegan, non-gmo diets, or low carb. Though we have modified our business to work around current demands, we are still making fresh, authentic tortillas right in the heart of the Central Valley. Right now you can order online and stock up on tortillas for either $5 shipping or free pick up at our Retail Outlet. I usually keep at least one package of flour, one of corn, and one or two bag of chips on hand because I know they're so easy to work with. Happy cooking to everyone and stay well!
