Homemade Taco Shells (of the gluten variety)

We love to have tacos.  Since we hardly ever eat out, it is our "fast food."  To us, tacos means spicy beef with a shell of some sort and cheese.

We had one of those those nights were all we had was ground beef in the fridge and not a lot else to choose from.  While I had all the allergen free ingredients for my allergy boys, there was nothing for my honey or X-Box (my non-allergy kiddo).  So I decided to give making homemade flour taco/tortilla shells a whirl.  And you know what?  They were good.  Really good.  So good that we won't be buying them anymore.  It takes a bit of work, but they froze up fine and I can just pull them out when I need them.  Actually, I was surprised how easy they were.

Here is the recipe I followed and adapted:

3 cups of flour (I used unbleached white flour and another time bread flour.  Both worked)
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup palm shortening, lard or oil of choice
2 tsp baking powder

Heat water to about 120 degrees.  My microwave is one minute per cup of water.
Mix the flour, sea salt, baking powder and shortening together.  Once it is mixed into a crumbly looking mixture add the warm water.  Knead into a ball.  Put in a bowl and cover with a damp towel.  Let it sit 30 minutes.

Once it has sat, roll in to egg size balls for small tortilla shells.  Roll flat.  I used a seasoned cast iron pan for a non-stick surface.  But I supposed a greased fry pan would work as well.  Cook until each side is browned.  About 2-4 minutes per side.  Sometimes they appear a bit crunchy, but they will soften a bit as they sit.