Don’t know about Texas, but in the barrios in and around Bakersfield the Mexicans I grew up with back in the '50s and '60 sure used canned and bottled sauces. Herdez salsas and chilis were very popular. And many households used store bought tortillas. Home made stuff was mostly for special occasions. Both parents usually worked and didn’t have time for the luxury of hecho a mano. We did get tamales for the holidays, made assembly line style by the women and girls.
Some abuelitas did make tortillas and such, but not all the time. And families where the dad had a “high” paying (read full-time) job, the mother might stay home, but they were the minority.
Are your friends mostly rich?
My friends were pretty poor, actually. The family with the sainted grandmother, that is. Enchilada sauce doesn’t take more than an hour to prepare. That’s why it seems very strange to me that anyone would use a canned sauce. It is a very simple thing to make. And I am very familiar with the holiday tradition of tamales made by the entire family. But that is a much more involved process than making some enchilada sauce. Tamales were definitely special occasions only.
I used to work near a bare-bones Mexican grocery; they also sold tacos. Greasy meat tacos with Gringo-killing sauce–yum!
It was quite disappointing to see a little old Mexican lady buying a can of refritos (“refried” beans). At least* I* buy canned whole beans & smash them myself.
I like to make Tex-Mex enchiladas, using mostly Ro-Tel tomatoes for the sauce & a ton of cheddar cheese. If I’m not in the mood to cook, Houston is not exactly having an enchilada shortage…
You guys and your dang tex-mex. I’ve been to Texas a few times, mostly the Dallas area, and I had a heck of a time finding a regular old Mexican restaurant. In fact, the best two mexican restaurants I ever found were in Austin on a tip by a SDMB member. And one of those is set to close due to “urban renewal”.
I do like Ro-Tel, and use it often.
My ex (chilanga), never used La Victoria, except for a corn chip salsa dip. To be honest, I thought they were equally inferior to what my step-mother would produce (I worked there; I ate for free everyday at her restaurant, anything I wanted).
You can probably equate those canned things with Hamburger Helper.
That was a LONG TIME ago. How many people do you know that actually make tortillas in the house–TODAY, FROM SCRATCH? (If you don’t live in the Mayan highlands.)
I’m not sure about your second statement. Sounds like you’re agreeing that people rarely make tortillas at home. I don’t know any now who do. If I did, I’d surely wear out my welcome.
My friend’s mom would sometimes be making flour tortillas while we ate. Smear with butter, (or lard) roll 'em up. Yum. leftover tortillas often went into chilaquiles, or soup, or something like that.
I can certainly understand if you do something special during the squishing, but am I wrong for buying soy milk? 
Yes, at least in California.
In Mexico, though, maybe the rising price of corn tortillas (because of free trade) has caused more people to make their own. On the other hand, it might not make any difference.