Homemade Gorditas (or... just change the name of the recipe to reflect the results)

So, Abby comes home from Mexico for a visit and brings me a handy-dandy tortilla press and pretty, red tortilla warmer.  "Here Mom!  I got red....for your blog!"

Itching to give them a try, I google "tortilla recipes" and come up with this post at Homesick Texan.  Just a quick spin around her site convinces me I will definitely want to bookmark this blog.

I've never made tortillas before, so I'm thinking, how difficult can this really be?  Well, according to Miss Texan, there is a learning curve involved in this, and she's finally perfected the recipe and technique.

Joy and rapture!  I'll gladly let her work out the kinks and pass on the consummate flour tortilla recipe to me....

Problem is, (I quickly discover) my tortilla press must be for making corn tortillas.  These flour ones don't want to squish out flat enough.  

Undaunted by this minor setback, I grab my rolling pin and finish them off to approximately circular, thin rounds of dough.

They really do cook up nicely on a dry iron skillet.  A minute or so on each side and they are cooked to perfection.  Fat and thick like gorditas, they no longer look like tortillas to me.  So, now we're going to call them tortilla/gorditas...

Works for me.

I pop them in the warmer as they come off the skillet.   Thanks, Abby.  The red is just beautiful!   Next, I prepare the chicken filling.

I start by sauteing garlic and onion in a little olive oil.

Throw in some shredded chicken, fresh basil, salt and pepper, and I'm in business.  And my children are now flocking to the kitchen, following the scent that is wafting up the stairs....

I pile shredded cheddar cheese on a tortilla/gordita and plop on a handful of the chicken mixture.

Top with another tortilla/gordita and fry on the other side for a minute.  I top these off with homemade sour cream.  They're awesome with salsa or pico de gallo as well if you have it on hand. 

I didn't.

If you're the least bit adventuresome in the kitchen, you ought to give these a try.  They are really easy to do, and you'll appreciate all the "mmmmm!"  "yum!" and "these are amazing!" comments that invariably follow the first bites.  Basically, you'll be a hero in your children's eyes.

And lest you think this has completely turned into a cooking blog, let me tell you now that I'm in the process of putting together my Spring Give-Away.  It's going to be different from anything I've given away before, and I know you're gonna love it.  So, be thinking what is your FAVORITE thing about Spring, 'cause that is what I'm going to have to know in order to enter your name!

Oh!  And I'm getting a new great-niece in the next few days.  So, there will be a frothy little pink frock showing up on this blog in the very near future.

Till then!!

Love,