I can't tape them back together.
October 4, 2010 7:53 PM   Subscribe

What can I do with my flour tortillas that were are all stuck together, and are now a pile of shredded tortilla pieces?

Every single tortilla in the last pack I bought was stuck together so badly that I couldn't separate them and ended up sort of shredding them all in the process of trying. Is there anything I can cook or do with them other than throwing them out? They're flour, not corn, or I'd fry up some tortilla strips for soup. Chips are a possibility, but the pieces are not at all regular and would be a weird shape for dipping.

I don't eat nuts, but other than that, any ingredients are fair game.
posted by oinopaponton to Food & Drink (19 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
My friend, this is exactly what chilequiles were invented for. The recipe calls for corn tortillas but I prefer flour anyway. Definitely put a fried egg on top.
posted by LeeLanded at 7:56 PM on October 4, 2010 [4 favorites]


Chilaquiles! Chilaquiles!
Slathered with salsa -
Chilaquiles!

to the tune of Baby Monkey.
posted by zamboni at 8:04 PM on October 4, 2010


beef taco skillet. You can substitute ground chicken or turkey for the beef if you like.
posted by Nolechick11 at 8:07 PM on October 4, 2010


Nthing chilaquiles! Make 'em with red chile sauce and a runny egg on top, with a bowl of papas fritas to dip in the sauce-y, egg-y goodness.
posted by vorfeed at 8:21 PM on October 4, 2010


FYI, even though it's too late now, a quick zap in the microwave can help separate sticky tortillas.
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 8:29 PM on October 4, 2010


Tortilla Soup! Or chips!
posted by GilloD at 8:34 PM on October 4, 2010


Chilaquiles are indeed awesome. If you're not into that, I'd imagine you could do some sort of enchilada casserole thing where you layer the shreds with other ingredients.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 8:40 PM on October 4, 2010


Shreads + toaster oven = tortilla chips. Goes well with homemade guac or hummus.
posted by shopefowler at 8:44 PM on October 4, 2010


Similar to chilaquiles, migas are a traditional way of using stale or broken tortillas. Both dishes are usually made with corn tortillas, but taste fine with flour tortillas, too.
posted by Forktine at 8:44 PM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


Nolechick's link to Beef taco skillet is soooooo yummy. I'm getting hungry just thinking about making it.
posted by saffry at 9:06 PM on October 4, 2010


I really enjoy this casserole, which calls for tortillas cut or torn up into small pieces.

Mexican Squash-Chicken Enchilada Bake
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil cooking spray
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 white onion, thinly sliced
12 6-inch corn tortillas cut into 1-inch pieces
1 10-ounce can cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups picante sauce
1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

[1] Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts on a small, rimmed baking sheet or pie pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool and cut into small cubes.

[2] Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels to remove excess moisture.

[3] Sauté squash, bell pepper, and onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, chicken, tortillas, soup, sour cream, picante, chiles and taco seasoning. Add half of the cheese and mix well. Spoon into a lightly greased baking dish.

[4] Top with remaining cheese and bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Note: For vegetarian, sub another squash and another pepper for the chicken.

Per serving: 441 calories; 41 grams protein; 22 grams total fat; 5 grams fiber; 10 grams saturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 141 mgs cholesterol; 1034 mgs sodium.
posted by anderjen at 9:11 PM on October 4, 2010


I really enjoy this casserole, which calls for tortillas cut or torn up into small pieces. Mexican Squash-Chicken Enchilada Bake

This is a good suggestion as well! I make a very similar casserole with squash/chicken/green chile, and it's always a hit. The sum is much greater than its parts. Throw a handful of cilantro in with the spinach, too!
posted by vorfeed at 9:26 PM on October 4, 2010


I would pan fry them in a little butter, coat or sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and eat them with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
posted by delicate_dahlias at 9:54 PM on October 4, 2010


King Ranch Chicken, as written by my friend Nats:

"some chicken (i often just use breasts but that's not necessary)
one can of Rotel tomatoes with peppers
one can of cream of mushroom soup
one can of cream of chicken soup
(i usually get the low sodium soups here b/c of all the cheese. your
other option is to screw the rotel and just buy two of the southwest
chicken soups, but those aren't always available in rochester, and i'm
a fan of the rotel)
one package flour tortillas
one package corn tortillas
taco mix cheese (or whatever you like)
scallions and whatever else (salsa, sour cream, avocado, cilantro) you
like for garnish

PREHEAT the oven to 350
1) the chicken needs to be pre-cooked, but please please not overcooked. Doesn't matter too much how ya cook it. I often will just rub it with a little cumin (tastes mexicanish) or molasses or olive oil and pepper and cook it on the stove top SLOWLY. but if you have a pre-cooked chicken of some sort, that works too. Ultimately you want to end up with little pieces of cooked delicious chicken.
2) in a pretty big sauce pan, you can heat up the rotel and the soup cans. Alternatively, you can sautee your own onions and mushrooms and make your own sauce at this point, but if you're doing the soup shortcuts, now is the time to heat them up in a sauce pan.
3) then you can put the pieces of chicken into the sauce for a few minutes. again, avoid overcooking the whole thing because it will bake later. if the sauce looks really way too thick, add a little chicken stock or water
4) get a baking dish, or a few smaller baking dishes (i like to make a couple and freeze some for later) and take the tortillas, rip them into little pieces, and put a layer of tortilla shreds on the bottom. I like to mix corn and flour, but you can also just stick with your
fave.
5) ladle some of the chicken-in-sauce on top of the tortilla layer, then top with cheese, then add another layer of ripped tortillas, more chicken, cheese, etc, etc, until you fill the dish, preferably with cheese on top
6) at this point, either cover and bake or cover and freeze. If it's HOT already from cooking the sauce, you only need to bake it for about half an hour. If you just pulled one of these out of the freezer, on the other hand, it will take an hour or maybe a bit more, depending on
how big your dish is and stuff.
7) garnish with chopped scallions and put the other garnishes you like
on the side"
posted by knile at 1:13 AM on October 5, 2010


I've made this soup before and I love it!

6 corn tortillas (6 inch), divided
1-1/2 tsp. oil, divided
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Medium Salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oven to 400°F. Cut 2 tortillas into strips; toss with 1/2 tsp. oil. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 min. or until crisp, stirring occasionally.

MEANWHILE, finely chop remaining 4 tortillas. Heat remaining oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. Add chopped tortillas, broth, salsa and corn. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 15 min.

SERVE topped with cheese and tortilla strips.

The recipe comes from kraft which explains the brand specific ingredients. Feel free to ignore that part.
posted by VTX at 7:25 AM on October 5, 2010


Return them?

Same thing happened to me recently. I only really use tortillas for burritos, so they were worthless to me shredded. I returned them to the grocery store where I purchased them, and they exchanged them w/o hassle. You paid for whole tortillas, not shredded ones.

That being said, some of the above recipes look tasty.
posted by zen_spider at 10:29 AM on October 5, 2010


oinopaponton, zen_spider,

tortillas, specially if they are fresh, must be separated, left to dry a bit (some 15-30 minutes) and then piled back together.

Hey, I even found a video of a girl separating the tortillas, although she puts them back in a pile instantly. It works, but is better to let them rest a bit by themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSbx6B9skkk
posted by edmz at 11:01 AM on October 5, 2010


You can make some interestingly good "dumplings" with tortillas. I don't know how, I just know I've had chicken 'n dumplings where the dumplings were made of tortilla bits.
posted by galadriel at 12:16 PM on October 5, 2010


Really simple, but why not a taco salad? You could make sure the shreds are in bite size pieces and put them in plain, or fry them first for a crunchy taste!
posted by runaway ballista at 5:32 PM on October 5, 2010


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