Shrimp and Mushroom Fajitas

Wow, I can't believe it's been two whole weeks since I've written. One of my New Year's Resolutions will definitely be to write more. It's been incredibly hectic around here; between spending time with my family, my friends and my boyfriend, I feel like I barely have any time for the blog. I have been cooking and baking though, so I have a number of recipes lined up to share with you guys. 


This fajita recipe I created the other night was so fabulous, it's too bad the photo doesn't do it justice at all. I really think I might have to take an informal photography lesson from one of my talented photographer friends soon to really take this blog up a notch! 


So, this recipe was really easy, came together in under 30 minutes and can be adapted to whatever ingredients you have on hand. 

I'm not a big fan of shrimp. They remind me of little babies curled up, but for some reason I was craving it the other day. Actually this is something I want to talk about more in length in another blog post- I feel like I've been craving protein a lot more recently. Much more than normal. Which for me, translates into eating a lot of fish, being that I'm a pescatarian. I know that my body sends signals for certain reasons, so I'd be interested to get a check-up or blood work and see if everything is in order (maybe my iron is low or something?) Do any of you go through phases where you crave more of something? I don't mean chocolate :)


Shrimp and Mushroom Fajitas
1/4 lb fresh, deveined and cleaned shrimp
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup salsa, any kind
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp tomato paste
whole wheat tortillas
your choice of cheese


Directions: Saute the onions in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the bell peppers and continue cooking until soft. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for an additional 10 minutes until mushrooms have browned. Add salsa, tomato paste and cumin and let cook down a bit. Add shrimp at the last minute as they cook fast. Allow to cook for 3 minutes if you like them barely cooked like I do, or at least 5 minutes if you like them cooked a bit more. Toast tortillas either in a pan or in a toaster, add a sprinkling of either mozzarella or cheddar (or whatever you have on hand), spoon fajita mixture over and serve. 

The best kind of avocado. Photo credit

These fajitas were a great vehicle for lots of veggies (mushrooms! red and green peppers!) and were so delicious I think they might become a weeknight staple. The key here is the salsa which adds so much flavor you really don't have to do much yourself. When I go back to the states I might like to try this with a green salsa instead of red, just to mix things up. 


I can imagine this would work just as good with cubed seared tofu or canned black beans so feel free to swap whatever you have. 


And obviously if I had fresh delicious avocado on hand, I would have cubed some on top of this, but I didn't and the avocados in Istanbul tend to be flavorless anyway. I prefer Hass avocados which have a black and bumpy exterior, but aren't sold here.