This is how we do our tacos

For $1.50 you can get 12 hard taco shells (Great Value brand) at Walmart. That's 12.5 cents each shell. I buy the large bags of corn tortillas (80 ct) for a little under $4 at WinCo (similar price at Walmart). These big bags keep for a loooong time in the fridge. A plain corn tortilla costs about 5 cents each. I use about a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of saved meat fat to pan fry 2 tacos at a time, or about 1.5 cents per taco. So my home fried taco in shells costs 6.5 cents per shell, compared to the pre-fried taco shells at 12.5 cents per shell. When I make 8 tacos for the four of us, I save 48 cents on the shells. 

Maybe 48 cents doesn't sound like a lot of money. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't. However, I like to do the pan-fried tacos for other reasons, as well. I buy corn tortillas on a regular basis. We use them in enchiladas, oven-fried tortilla chips, mulitas (quesadillas made with corn tortillas), as well as tacos. So I almost always have corn tortillas on hand. Which means I don't have to "plan" for making tacos like I would if I used hard shells. I can decide the day of that I want tacos. In addition, I grew up eating these chewier tacos. I enjoy the chewy texture and corn tortilla taste.

So those are my "whys" on making tacos using corn tortillas. Here's my how.

Corn tortillas are less pliable than flour tortillas. They are easier to work with if warmed or at least at room temperature. To warm them, I put a stack into the microwave for about 10 seconds. This is usually enough to make them pliable enough to gently fold over.

I lay the warm tortillas out on the counter and spoon some prepared (cooked and seasoned) meat and/or beans into the center.

Meanwhile I get  a skillet hot with about 2 teaspoons of fat melted. I gently fold the tortilla in half and place into the skillet. I use a small omelet pan for these, so I can do 2 at a time. In the minutes that these cook, I grate a little cheese, and I get out a sheet of draining paper (paper flour bags torn open work well).

When the tortilla has lightly browned on one side, I use tongs to turn the whole taco over. Once both sides are lightly browned I remove the tacos to the paper to drain. I add more fat with each 2-taco batch that I fry. 

As the next batch are cooking, I open each cooked tortilla just a little and place a some cheese and some chopped veggies (tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, avocado, green or red bell peppers) inside. I drizzle whatever dressing or sauce I want on top and close them back up.

My tacos don't look pretty, but they're really tasty and have great texture.

This is obviously more doable when making tacos for 4 to 6 people. If I were to make tacos for a crowd, I would probably make street tacos, using 2 warmed (on a griddle) corn tortillas, not fried, per taco. With a full sized griddle, you can make a lot of street tacos at one time.

Anyway, this post is my way of saying we had tacos for dinner tonight -- tacos, a cabbage/lentil sprout slaw, and dried prunes.

How do you feel about taco shells? Do you like them crunchy, chewy, or soft like a street taco?

A little birthday tea

So, our daughters spent their actual birthday with just their dad and I. This weekend they want to celebrate with our son and daughter-in-law, too. And they want a tea! This is wonderful for me, as I love teas. The three of us used to volunteer at our church once per month at fund-raising teas. We did everything from make sandwiches and salads, to serve guests, to wash dishes. Those were fun times.

So once again, I get to participate in throwing a tea. Only this time, I'm the one planning and shopping for everything. 

The tea will be more substantial than just a couple of finger sandwiches, some cookies, and a pot of tea, as we all need real food at meal times. This tea will sort of take the place of an early dinner.

Here's the menu:

• small shrimp salads served in ice cream sundae dishes
• chicken salad on baby croissants
• egg salad on thin sliced bread
• roast beef and horseradish on small rolls
• fruit compote
• marinated vegetable medley
• cookies
• mini cupcakes
• tea, cocoa, sparkling water, fruit juice

I can prep most of this on Saturday, then assemble sandwiches and put together salads on Sunday.

We'll do more than just have a tea. But the tea is what I'm most excited about. We'll also do something either active or game-like. One daughter is more into arcades and active entertainment, while the other is more into girly stuff, like teas and classy European cafés. I ask them to choose something that each of them really enjoys. Some years they agree on something, like a specific movie or a picnic in the park. Other years we do one thing for one daughter and another thing for the other.

I'll use my new-to-me small glasses (for the fruit juice and sparkling water) that I bought at Goodwill yesterday. I found the exact same glass pattern and size on ebay and etsy for $6 to $15 each. I paid 99 cents each. I love a deal. And now we actually have matching juice glasses.

Between one daughter and myself, we have 2 pedestal cake plates. We'll get those out for the sandwiches and desserts. I have a collection of mismatched tea cups thrifted and bought at garage sales over the years. We'll use those as well.

I don't keep many of the ingredients needed for our menu on hand, so I will have to do some shopping. However, I'm certain that I will be spending far less on the needed ingredients than we would if we opted for a restaurant meal for the 6 of us.

Okay, so those are the plans for a bigger birthday celebration. In our family, when your birthday falls on a weekday (workday), you get a small celebration with just us 4 on the day, then a bigger celebration that includes all 6 of us on the weekend following or before. Some years the smaller celebration is just choosing what's for dinner. Some years it's going some place low-key plus dinner at home.

Thank you to all of you who wished my daughters a happy birthday. They were touched when I conveyed your good wishes for them.

If you were to put on a tea, what would be on your menu?