taco shells

I was totally psyched on some tacos last week, I made all the stuff, then opened the box of Old El Paso shells and they were STALE.  It was so nasty.  I tried to crisp them up in the oven as usual (maybe they were always stale before crisping and I just forgot??) but they got sort of greasy and soggy.  I actually cried missing home for the first time since I have been here, and all over a stale taco shell!   :\\\'(  I thought, will I never eat a good taco again?
DH said they tasted normal to him, which is what upset me.  Are they always like that here, or did I just get a bad box?  I haven't seen any other brands around here.  Even the flour tortillas here are a bit disappointing, they always seem to be stuck together and sort of old or something.  I know some people on here make their own, but I don't think I have time for that....
Any advice??

Making your own is seriously easy I was a bit doubtful at first but I always make my own now. I even got DB to bring me back a tortilla press from the states

You can get Mission Brand flour tortillas pretty much everywhere now, I think they call them "wraps" rather than tortillas but I get them at sainsburys and DB says they're the same as the mission brand flour tortillas in the states. You can also get fresh sainsburys's own ones (whole and white I think) which are fresher and nicer, the el paso ones are gross as they're long life :/

Taco wise I tend to stay away from old el paso and get discovery brand instead or make my own.

thanks for the advice... so, no hard taco shells then?  i think OEP were the only ones I saw at the store... might have to check at Asda tonight and see if they have anything.  Maybe I will make my own flour tortillas sometime, I have been teaching myself to make pastry these days, I am guessing it isn't much harder than that?

I almost always get the store brand tortillas. One of my favorite ways to eat tacos is to get the corn tortillas, (it doesn't matter if they are not the proper ones like back home) fill with the taco meat, then shallow fry holding the 'shell' together with tongs, so the meat filling doesn't fall out. My mom does them that way and I much prefer that method to the crispy store bought ones.

Dh & I like the Old El Paso Stand & Stuff tacos shells they are absolutely fantastic at least to us they are.   

I always crisped the shells when I was back in the states. The shells here seem fine to me. I pop them in the oven or the microwave and they're fine.

Like Shugga, we've been buying the "stand and stuff" ones recently and both like them.

Maybe I just got a bad box, then....
Will give the stand n stuff a go next time...

Making your own IS really easy and SOO much tastier! You can buy Maseca brand corn flour from Mex Grocer. All you add to the mix is water and salt! Just roll in a ball flatten w/ a tortilla press (or 2 plates) put on a hot pan for 1-2 minutes each side and voila! To make it crispy just fry in oil. I find it easier to just make tostadas and leave them flat. It really takes me less than 10 minutes to make a batch of 20 or so. Cheap too! 

My boyfriend and I actually want to look into opening a small Mexican cafe (eventually) when we move to Brum next year. I hope the logistics work out! I refuse to eat bad Mexican food in the UK.