Lemony Lentil Soup & Homemade Tortillas

This is my family's favorite soup.  I usually have this in the freezer so that I can have something hearty and flavorful to pull out on a busy night (or sometime when I just really don't feel like cooking anything).  However this was not "quite" true tonight.  I did have the hankering to try my hand at homemade tortillas to go with the soup.  This soup is pretty thick so it goes well with some dipping-bread and tonight... that was tortillas at our house.  I'll include both recipes below:

Lemony Lentil Soup

adapted from: been making this so long I don't know

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 yellow onions (chopped)
• 1 bunch organic celery (chopped)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp tumaric
• 2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 20 cups water
• 4 cups lentils (well rinsed)
• 4 (15 oz) cans chickpeas (well rinsed and drained)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Preparation

• Use olive oil to sauté onions, celery, cilantro, along with curry powder and turmeric for 10 minutes.

• Add tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.

• Add 20 cups of water and the lentils, chickpeas, salt, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.

• Bring to a boil, then simmer partially covered for 2 hours (to really meld flavors).

• Check that there is enough liquid every once in a while and add 1 cup of water if necessary.

Note: I changed the recipe to read 4 cups of lentils just to make it more clear.  My favorite kind of lentil to use is split peas, but really whatever you use will probably be delicious.  Just remember that you are putting them in dry and adding 20 cups of water to rehydrate them... so no need to do it ahead of time.  Hope that helps!

Soft Flour Tortillas 

adapted from: Homesick Texan

Ingredients
• Two cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 3/4 cups of warm milk

Preparation

• Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.

• Slowly add the warm milk and stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.

• Pick up the dough and between your hand, knead for two minutes. Dough should be firm and soft.

• Place dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

• After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

• After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

• In a nonstick skillet heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

• Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat (which you can see my kiddos helped me sample nice and warm with a little butter spread on top).

• Can be reheated in the microwave for just a few seconds each under a damp paper towel, so they don't get dry.

Disclaimer: There are a LOT of tortilla recipes floating around the internet and I have to admit that I have tried a few that we not at all good.  This recipe is, however, very good.  That is why I included a picture of my kiddos gobbling them up. Just to show you that I am a real person, who really made these and didn't just cut and paste a recipe off the web to share with you.  So go make them!  They are easy and delicious!