Veggie Fajitas

Hiiiiiii! I’m sorry for showing up so little around here these days. Lots and lots of stuff going on lately, and by lots and lots I mean school and work. It’s horrendous.

In other random news, I started 50-day challenge. If all goes according to plan, I will not eat meat, consume caffeine (not even chocolate), or eat in between meals until May 31st. Today is day 6. I have not consumed any caffeine or meat, but I have snacked between meals. I don’t feel too terrible about it because my days are long, really long. My first class starts at 9 a.m., and I get home from work around 11 p.m. or later. The first two days were filed with blinding migraines, as I’ve always consumed copious amounts of caffeine since childhood, but now that those have past, I must admit I sleep so much better at night. So so much better. It’s pretty incredible.

Also, may I add it’s really hard to not eat meat when you have no moral conflict in doing so? I’ll be at work and one of the guys will be slicing turkey or something and typically I’d grab a slice and go about my work, and now I reach for it and I’m like, “noooope”. I guess if I thought killing delicious animals for consumption was immoral it would be far easier not to reach for it… but I don’t, sorry. I will say this though, being full from a giant plate of veggies is a much more pleasant feeling than being full from… a giant steak. I don’t feel inclined to unbutton the top button on my jeans after chowing down on a giant salad or stir-fry.

So I’ve been trying to cook up some healthy vegetarian meals. So many people I know gain tons of weight when they switch to the dark side, because they only eat potatoes and cheese and more cheese. So I decided to make these Veggie Fajita’s inspired by one of my favorite bloggers ever, Ezra Pound Cake’s meatless Monday recipe from a while back.

Let’s preface this with my family is Lithuanian, I’ve grown up in Missouri my entire life, and I come from a mother who thinks ketchup is spicy. I never even had Taco Bell until I was like 13.

[Boohoo, I’m sooo sheltered. I never got to eat garbage Taco Bell until I was 13 with a friends family because I had an incredibly talented stay at home mother who cooked a meal from scratch every day three times a day for her whole family, I’m just so terribly deprived!!]

Honesty, my most Latin attribute is that the boyfriend’s last name is Garcia. So is it wrong that I put refried beans in a fajita? Probably. What about lettuce and diced tomatoes? You tell me. My most embarrassing confession of all is that if it’s “Mexican” I automatically roll it up like a burrito. It can be a taco, and I’ll roll it up like a burrito. I’d probably try to roll up flan like a burrito if I could. Though, I must say, I’m not a complete idiot, and as I’ve been in a professional kitchen longer and longer I’ve learned about Latin cuisine, and I really genuinely think it’s a beautiful—the smells, the colors, the textures, and of course the tastes. I just don’t really pay much attention to tradition when I’m sitting on my couch in my apartment.

So here it is (well, here is what I used):

-1 red onion, sliced

-4 peppers (I used one each red, yellow, orange, and green)

-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-8 oz mushrooms, sliced

-6 Tbsp vegetable oil

-2 Tbsp chili powder

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add to taste more if you like it hot, scratch it if you aren’t into spicy)

-2 tsp cumin

-1 tsp paprika

-salt and fresh cracked pepper

-tortillas, warmed

Garnish to your taste: cilantro? Lime? Sour cream? Guac? Refried beans? It’s okay if it’s not a “traditional” fajita topping…I won’t judge.

1. In a bowl, combine the onion, peppers, garlic and mushrooms.

2. Mix the oil and spices in a small cup and pour over the vegetable mixture. Make sure to coat those suckers good. Set aside for a bit.

3. Heat a skillet or wok until very hot. Add the marinated veggies, and stir-fry over high heat for 5-6 minutes, until the peppers and mushrooms are just tender. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a little of the filling onto each tortilla, add toppings of choice, and ENJOY!