Frugal Living

FRUGAL LIVING BY SARA NOEL

Tortillas can be bought or made cheaply, so they make an excellent key ingredient for frugal recipes. You can make tortilla wraps by adding your favorite sandwich fillings. Tortillas are delicious as part of breakfast burritos, too. Add scrambled eggs and your favorite toppings, such as cheese, salsa, crumbled bacon or sausage, cubed potatoes or onions, and roll it inside a warmed tortilla.

Here are a few more tortilla recipes.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

5 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups lukewarm water

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly; add vegetable oil and water. Mix well, and knead until soft and satiny (like bread dough). Make 12 to 16 balls; roll out flat and even. Cook on preheated hot griddle for about 10 to 15 seconds per side. The hotter the griddle, the quicker they cook. Roundness comes from practice if you don’t have a tortilla press. — S.C., New Mexico

Simple Quesadilla

4 (6-inch) flour tortillas

1/2 cup salsa

2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place two tortillas on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Stack a tortilla on top of cheese. Bake in oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Cut into wedges. Dip into salsa and sour cream. Optional: Add diced cooked chicken when baking.

Chicken and Tortilla Dumpling Soup

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 rib celery

2 carrots, sliced

14 ounces flour tortillas

2 (10-1/2 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup butter

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup milk

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Add chicken, celery and carrots. Boil until chicken and vegetables are tender. Slice tortillas in half vertically and then four to five slices horizontally to make wide strips. Remove cooked chicken from saucepan, and shred or cut into cubes. Place chicken, cream of chicken soup, butter, salt and pepper into boiling chicken broth. Bring to a rolling boil. Drop individual tortilla pieces into pot. Don’t stir. Boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of milk, and gently stir with a wooden spoon. Serve warm. — Ellise B., South Carolina

Soft-Taco Casserole

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 (1-1/4 ounce) package taco-seasoning mix

1/2 cup water

6 soft tortillas

2 (8-ounce) cans refried beans

1 cup sour cream

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 can black olives, chopped

lettuce, chopped or shredded

tomatoes, chopped

salsa

taco sauce

Brown ground beef and onion until meat is cooked through. Add taco seasoning and water, and cook until thickened. Spray 9-by-13-inch baking pan or casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with three tortillas, then layer with half the meat, half the beans, half the sour cream and half the cheese, and sprinkle on chopped black olives. Repeat layer. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes. Slice and serve with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and taco sauce on the side. — Deb, Nebraska

Sara Noel is the owner of Frugal Village (www.frugalvillage.com), a Web site that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. To send tips, comments or questions, write to Sara Noel, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, or e-mail sara@frugalvillage.com.