Nothing beats a warm, homemade, from scratch, soft flour tortilla. Was that descriptive enough? I could probably add ten more words and it still would not express my love for a homemade tortilla. I think one of my first memories in the kitchen was tugging at my Abuelita's skirt waiting for the first tortilla. Now my favorite moments are when my son eagerly waits for the first tortilla, as I did when I was a child. It took many years of practice, patience and tortillas shaped like Florida to get the recipe right. I still have tortillas that still don't bubble right or come out oddly shaped. It probably would have been easier to ask my Abuelita Angelica for the recipe. Right? Well the problem with that is she does not have a recipe. It's the old school way of most Mexican Grandma's, well at least in my family. Just a dash of this and a pinch of that, mix it, knead it and there you go! Luckily you don't have to start from square one — on the recipe at least. I have a good one that's a great place to start. I will give a heads up. The recipe is a great one, but the rest is up to you. The kneading, the feel of the dough and the heat of the comal are not in my control, that is yours. To watch how I make them click the You Tube icon button below. I hope you like the recipe and happy cooking! SOFT FLOUR TORTILLA RECIPE 3 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 tsp if using fine table salt) 1/3 cup of lard or shortening 1 cup hot water (add an extra 1/4 cup of hot water a table spoon at a time in case dough is still dry) PRINTABLE RECIPE DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make post and recipes like this. Thank you for the support!

Making tamales in my home always brings back the memories of my Paternal grandmother. She always had a pot of coffee right next to her chair at the enamel kitchen table. Her stove had 2 to 3 large pots that was always filled with a delicious soup, stew or boiling meat. My favorite time of the year is Christmas when she would invite all the family and neighbors to join her in making delicious pork tamales. The kitchen table always had a mountain of masa. The slow cooked meat, chiles and a full pot of coffee kept all the laughter and work going. I miss those days and hope I can create the spirit my Grandmother always brought with her tamale making. Nothing can compare to her delicious tamales, but this recipe is something that makes me happy and think of her. Click the video to see how I make tamales. INGREDIENTS (MEAT) 5lb pork shoulder roast 2 bay leaves 2 tsp salt 1 chicken bullion (optional) 1/2 tsp pepper 2 garlic cloves minced 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 lb bag of corn husk **Be sure to soak husks in hot water for at least 2 hours or until soft and pliable (MASA) 5 lbs bag fresh white masa 2 cups of melted pork lard 1 cup of drippings from pork or water salt to taste **keep extra hot water or drippings if masa is dry RED CHILE PUREE (Use any combo of dried chiles you like. Here's what I used.) 2 cascabel chiles 4 ancho chiles 2 pasilla chiles 1 small onion 3 cloves of garlic salt to taste