Taco Fail

I had a hankerin' for some Taco Bell Crispy Soft Tacos, the other day. But instead of putting on pants and driving the 7 minutes to the nearest one to delight in their $.89 goodness, I decided to make my own.

This all seemed like a good idea at first. I had all the ingredients to make what I wanted – flour tortillas, greens, greasy hash browns, and the Pièce de résistance, Taco Bell
Creamy Jalapeño sauce. Unfortunately, I had to make the flour tortillas from scratch.

If you take a look at the pictures you’ll find the recipe, which I cut in half.

Flour Tortillas
makes 16 tortillas

4 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter or oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water

*Rochelle here. M kinda gave up on finishing his tale of failed tacos, so I’m left with the task of writing it up*

Mix all the ingredients until it comes together, kneading to form a big dough ball. Cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Divide into 16 even pieces. Roll each piece out thinly, into a rough circular shape. According to M, “when you think it’s thin enough, sprinkle more flour and roll some more. If you have a pasta roller, use that on it’s thinnest setting.”

 

Heat up a skillet, and cook the tortillas one at a time. There is enough oil in the dough so you don’t have to add any to the pan. Cooking time will vary depending on how hot the pan is and how thin you roll the dough. M: “It should be about 2-3 minutes per side. Look for it to have bubble pockets and brown spots.

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While you’re cooking the tortillas, heat up the hash browns. The Taco Bell version is seasoned fried potato, but M figured the hash browns would work just as well. To make the taco, cut up the hash browns into bite sized pieces, add some mixed greens, and the TB sauce.

M actually halved the recipe, but ended up using the full amount of salt. I didn’t try the tacos (I was at work) but I did nibble on the tortillas. They were on the salty side, and this is why.

I asked him if he would make this again, and he emphatically said NO. “It took way too long, way too much work, and I’d rather just drive to Taco Bell and spend the 89 cents for the delicious potatoes.”