On to the news… I scored a dismal ~11 on a physics test last week. Not just any physics test… a midterm. No, this is not some kind of funny joke. The test was not out of 11 points. It was out of 39. It defeated me. Luckily, it defeated a vast majority of the class… so the curve was great. Then again, even with the curve my score is equivalent to a C-. Yes, ouch. That’s most of my bad news.

But, good news abounds! Thursday is Thanksgiving – and I’ll be cooking from tomorrow until then. I’m quite excited and stepping outside of my <$1/day mentality. I went into the old sock, begged up a few donations, and will be having a feast fit for twenty. (And actually the left-overs should defray the cost… ok, enough…) I’m so psyched abut cooking so much wonderful food – I’ve attached my menu to ‘wow’ you.

The other good news… oh, yeah, that involves the end of this quarter being a measly 2.5 weeks away. A break I can use. I think there’s more news, but won’t over-due it in one post.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving this 2007.

So, where am I going with all of this… last time we went to ALDI – we didn’t buy the frozen burritos. In the spirit of cheapness we bought the ingredients to make burritos. We made them – we froze them – and we’ve been munching on them for about a week and a half now. Not only are they much much better than the frozen things, but they are a little cheaper. By about 2¢ a piece.

The biggest cost – adding a whopping 10¢ per burrito – was tortillas. So, today – I have successfully mastered home-made flour tortilla making. It wasn’t that hard, but the result is scrumptious. Not to mention at least 7¢ a piece cheaper.

The next thing I’m working on mastering are good hash browns – I’ll keep everyone posted.

Oh, yeah and here is the recipe I used for the tortillas (in case you’re cheap too)

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Ingredients:
* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 3/4 cup warm water

Directions:
In a bowl, blend flour, salt, baking powder and shortening until it resembles fine meal.

Add warm water, a little at a time, to flour mixture and toss until liquid is incorporated. Water amount will vary with different flour types.

Form dough into a ball and kneed on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide, and make 12 smaller balls. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes.

Cooking Tortilla:
Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface to make 6 or 7 inch sized tortillas. Place on a pre-heated griddle or cast iron skillet and cook till medium golden on both sides.

Remove to a basket lined with a cloth towel or put between a towel until cool. After the tortillas have cooled completely, store them in a plastic bag. This recipe will make approximately 12 flour tortillas.

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P.S.

to make these as cheaply as possible buy flower in 25lb bags… no, I’m not kidding…