Texarkana Gazette

Festive veggie fajitas are filled with meaty mushrooms

- Linda Gassenheim­er Colunist

Meaty mushrooms sauteed with onion, bell peppers and pinto beans fill tortillas to make vegetarian fajitas, creating a festive Mexican dinner. I like to serve all the ingredient­s at the table and let diners fill their own tortillas.

There are a few different ways to warm tortillas. It’s easy to place them in a microwave oven on a plate and covered with a slightly damp paper towel. They can also be warmed in a 200-degree-fahrenheit oven or in a skillet for 30 seconds. The secret is, once they’re warmed, to keep them wrapped in a napkin or foil.

Helpful Hints:

■ You can use any type of tortilla.

■ You can use any type of mushroom.

■ You can use black or red kidney beans instead of pinto beans.

■ You can use prepared taco sauce instead of fajita sauce. Countdown:

■ Prepare all ingredient­s.

■ Saute onion and then add remaining vegetables.

■ Warm tortillas.

■ Set the ingredient­s in bowls on the table along with the warm tortillas. Shopping List:

To buy: 1 red onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 container sliced mushrooms, 1 Hass avocado, 1 can pinto beans, 1 package 8-inch whole wheat tortillas, 1 bottle fajita sauce, 1 container reduced-fat sour cream and 1 bunch cilantro.

Staples: olive oil, salt and black peppercorn­s.

MUSHROOM FAJITAS

Recipe by Linda Gassenheim­er 2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup sliced red onion

1 cup sliced red bell pepper

1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup rinsed and drained pinto beans Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 8-inch whole wheat tortillas lite 4 tablespoon­s prepared fajita sauce 1 cup sliced avocado

3 tablespoon­s reduced-fat sour cream 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add red and yellow bell peppers and continue to saute for 5 minutes, stirring while they saute. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add the beans and cook for 2 minutes to warm the beans. Add the prepared fajita sauce and toss to combine all ingredient­s. Remove from heat.

To warm tortillas, place them on a plate, cover with a slightly damp paper towel and place in microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and wrap in a napkin or foil to stay warm.

To serve, place vegetables with beans and sauce in a bowl. Add avocado to another bowl. Add sour cream and cilantro to separate bowls. Set the bowls and wrapped tortillas on the table for each person to fill their own.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 511 calories (40% from fat), 22.6 g fat (5.3 g saturated, 9.8 g monounsatu­rated), 9 mg cholestero­l, 15.3 g protein, 69 g carbohydra­tes, 19.1 g fiber, 806 mg sodium.

(Linda Gassenheim­er is the author of over 30 cookbooks, including her newest, “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.” Listen to Linda on www.wdna.org and all major podcast sites. Email her at Linda@ Dinnerinmi­nutes.com.)

 ?? ?? Mushroom Fajitas. (Linda Gassenheim­er/tns)
Mushroom Fajitas. (Linda Gassenheim­er/tns)
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States