Mexican food: homemade!

I have wanted to make homemade tortillas forEVER and finally did this past week. The stars must have been aligned because they turned out great the first time! All I did was look up Rick Bayless' flour tortillas on Google, and there was the recipe! Here is a picture of the first ones off the assembly line. Remember, I am not a food stylist, so this is not a fabulous photo of them.

To go along with them, I made homemade refried beans. The recipe is in my head, not from any websites or cookbook, so here it is!

1  15 oz. can pinto beans, half to two thirds of liquid drained
1 jalapeno pepper, washed and dried
1/2 T. vegetable oil
salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder to taste ( the latter two are optional)

In a saucepan with lid on, heat oil for a minute or two over medium heat. Add jalapeno and brown by shaking the covered pan  side to side every few minutes until the pepper is dark on all sides. Add beans and simmer for about 7-8 minutes or until they have softened. Add water if it looks a little dry. Using a potato masher, smash the beans but avoid breaking the pepper. Add spices, mix, and they are ready to put on your fresh tortillas!