Vegetarian Recipes

Rainbow Veggie Fajitas

https://www.loveandlemons.com/rainbow-veggie-fajitas/

Can you believe the 4th of July is right around the corner? It seems like Memorial Day was just last week! If you’re gearing up for the next big summer BBQ holiday, you have to give these delicious rainbow veggie fajitas a try. They’re super easy to make on the grill, and all the ingredients in this veggie fajita recipe can be found at ALDI, meaning that this whole fajita spread is really affordable too.

I’ve been impressed with the quality of fresh produce and pantry staples at ALDI for a while now, but this season, their array of veggies (at super low prices!) really knocked my socks off. To make things even more convenient, we’ve put together a special Instacart link for you that has all of the ingredients ready to make this recipe – click here!

Now that it’s summer, I can’t get enough of colorful fresh veggies like tomatoes and peppers, and I was SO excited to see these rainbow bell peppers at the store. How pretty is that red, yellow, and green? When I saw them, I knew right away that I’d be making these rainbow fajitas. Along with the pretty peppers, I used bold purple onion for extra color and portobello mushrooms for hearty texture.

Veggie Fajitas are Perfect for Parties!

After making these fajitas, I can tell you that they’re my new go-to summer entertaining dish. Not only can you make them in under 30 minutes, but they’re also ideal for serving a crowd because everyone can customize their final dish to their liking. Jack’s not a fan of avocado (crazy, I know), so he skipped it. I loaded mine up with all the fixings and generous squeezes of lime, and the next day, I enjoyed the leftovers in a burrito bowl with the grilled fajita veggies, rice, beans, arugula, and lots of guac and salsa.

And the best part? The veggies can go straight from the grill to the picnic table at your next backyard celebration.

My Fajita Marinade

You don’t need a fancy fajita seasoning mix to pack these veggie fajitas with flavor. I use a simple 5-ingredient fajita marinade. It’s a lightly spicy mix of avocado oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sea salt. I use Simply Nature Avocado Oil here because I like its neutral taste with the Tex Mex spices. In addition, it’s great for grilling because it has a high smoke point, so you don’t need to worry about putting it on the hot grill.

The mushrooms also get coated with the marinade along with a little balsamic vinegar to make them extra juicy and flavorful. And once everything’s cooked, I brighten up all the veggies with a generous squeeze of lime.

How to Make Fajitas

Once you’ve mixed your marinade together, this recipe couldn’t be simpler to make. Here’s what you need to do:

Slice your veggies! I like to cut the onions into wedges and the peppers into thin slices. Just stem the mushrooms and leave the caps whole.
Drizzle on the marinade. Toss the peppers with a scant tablespoon of the marinade, and pour the remaining marinade over the mushrooms and onions. Rub a splash of balsamic vinegar onto the mushrooms too.
It’s time to grill! Preheat the grill with a cast iron skillet or grill pan on one side. When it’s hot, put the pepper slices in the hot skillet and grill the mushrooms and onions directly on the grill grates.
Don’t forget to flip halfway… Cook until the veggies soften and char marks form on the onions and mushrooms, flipping halfway through. I use tongs to toss the peppers in the skillet and cook until they get a little char too.
Enjoy! Slice the mushroom caps and serve the fajita veggies with tortillas and your favorite fixings.

What to Serve with Veggie Fajitas

I like to enjoy this fajita recipe with guacamole, pico de gallo, and tomatillo or pineapple salsa for creamy, zesty, and fresh accents. And don’t forget the tortillas – flour tortillas are traditional for fajitas, but corn tortillas are good too.

While these fajitas are a filling meal on their own, you can never go wrong by serving them alongside black beans and cilantro lime rice.

And don’t forget the margaritas!

If you love this veggie fajita recipe…

Get all of the ingredients to make these on Instacart in one click! If you’re a first time ALDI Instacart shopper, use the code ALDILemons19 for $10 off your first three orders of $35 or more.

Happy fajita making!

Rainbow Veggie Fajitas

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: main dish

3 multi-colored peppers, stemmed and sliced into strips
3 portobello mushrooms, stemmed and wiped clean
1 red onion, sliced into wedges
2 tablespoons Simply Nature Avocado Oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon Stonemill Chili Powder, more to taste
½ teaspoon Simply Nature Cumin
½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
Splash of balsamic vinegar
2 limes, sliced into wedges
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a grill to medium heat with a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (or grill pan) inside.
Arrange the peppers on a tray and the mushrooms and onion wedges on a separate rimmed plate. In a small bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Drizzle 1 scant tablespoon of the mixture over the peppers and toss to coat. Drizzle the remaining marinade over the mushrooms and onions. Drizzle the mushrooms with a splash of balsamic vinegar and use your hands to coat the mushrooms on both sides.
Grill the peppers in the cast-iron pan for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until charred and soft. Be careful not to overfill the pan or the veggies won’t char on the edges – cook them in 2 batches, if necessary. Grill the mushrooms and onion wedges directly on the grill for about 4 minutes about per side. Remove everything from the grill, using a potholder to remove the cast-iron pan. Squeeze the juice of ½ lime over the peppers and season with salt, pepper, and more chili powder, to taste. Slice the mushrooms into strips and place on a serving dish. Transfer the onions and the peppers to a serving skillet or large platter.
Serve with the tortillas, guacamole, jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, and remaining lime wedges for serving.

3.4.3177

Vegetarian Recipes

CAULIFLOWER BOLOGNESE

“I want you to come watch the movie with us ON the couch, not be in the kitchen!”

I’ve been filling out this one-question-a-day journals for moms that I received for Christmas. It records a little thought or memory over the last year, and then starts again, so you can see how your answers change over a few years. One of the recent ones, prompted me to jot notes about what I am learning as a mom, and I found the question so general I was basically annoyed. I am a romantic, and also wildly pragmatic. In the span of a day I can tear up over the depths of love I feel for my kids, and also wish for them to have a mute button. We all have worlds within us; mothering pushing me into the corners of myself I am sometimes proud of or other corners ashamed of, but am I learning? Yes, every single day. Sometimes in the moment and other times after a particular season. But in 2021, my answer in the bullet journal was that I see my kids are wanting me to play with them. They aren’t registering all the service and shuttling and laundry and what it takes to pull off a week, they just want to play WITH me. It’s natural for me to move within lists and tasks and responsibilities and hustling, but playing is something I have to pay attention to. For them and for me. We usually do a family movie on Friday nights and my son (6.5), see quote above, pointed out that I don’t actually watch the movie, I tinker in the kitchen and he wants me in the couch cuddle. Flattered, and found out that I’d rather make granola than watch The Croods 🙂 So from annoyed, to passing on the question to fellow parents, what are you learning? Try not to be annoyed. Maybe circle back to it.

I published this recipe over on SKCC a few weeks ago and wanted it to live here. We’re trying to find more family-friendly vegetarian recipes (it’s easy for me to fill up on roasted veggies and big salads, not so much for the kids). This batch lasts us two meals – once with noodles, maybe half zoodles, and the second round on toast or english muffins with cheese melted on top, like a pizza sort of thing? It freezes well and is great to deliver to new parents.

CAULIFLOWER BOLOGNESE

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion – roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 head of cauliflower (about ¾ lb. or 12 oz. riced)
1/2 cup of raw walnuts pieces
1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. of fennel seeds – crushed
2 Tbsp. of tomato paste
2 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of red wine (or broth of any sort, and double the vinegar to mimic the wine’s acidity)
28 oz. of canned, crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup of red lentils
red pepper flake to taste

For serving

12 oz. of pasta or choice, zoodles, etc.
parmesan
fresh, torn basil

Directions

In a large Dutch-oven or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium low heat.

In a food processor, pulse the onion and garlic into smaller bits. Add them to the pot with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté to soften, about 3 minutes.

Pulse up the cauliflower florets to get a rice-like texture. Add the riced-cauliflower to the pot and sauté to soften, about 5 minutes.

Pulse the walnuts in the processor and add those to the pot along with the Italian seasoning, fennel seed, another few generous pinches of salt and pepper, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar. Sauté until fragrant.

Add the red wine, cook about 3 minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes, ½ cup water, lentils, pinch of pepper flakes and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low, put the cover ajar and let it simmer gently for 30-35 minutes. Turn off the heat, taste for seasoning and adjust.

Cook your pasta or zoodles according to instructions. Top with cauli Bolognese, grated cheese, fresh basil and enjoy!

The Bolognese will keep in the fridge for a week and can be frozen for a few months.