Tomatillo Shrimp Fajitas

in Cinco de Mayo, Lighter & Healthier, Mexican & TexMex, Seafood, Tacos, Enchiladas & Quesadillas

Tomatillo Shrimp Fajitas

The Foodie Groom and I are constantly working to make sure the Foodie Baby is exposed to a crazy-wide variety of foods while she is young. With work (and let’s face it, probably some luck), we hope to avoid The Picky Toddler horror stories we’ve read about and witnessed.

So far, we’ve been lucky. She eats everything. But the really neat thing is that at 14 months, she has been exposed to more foods than either of us had, even by college age.

It’s weird entertainment for us: What “crazy” thing can we feed her this week?! (This is what happens when you get married, have kids, and move to the ‘burbs. You’ve been warned!) “Exotic” fruits like kiwi and mango most certainly never graced the produce shelves in the little town in which I grew up.

The Foodie Baby? She gets a couple of opportunities a day to throw each of those across the kitchen snack on each of those. Gyoza? Loves them! Prosciutto? Check. Sushi? Check. Indian food? The Foodie Baby and I actually had our first tastes of Indian food at the very same time!

Shrimp was one of those foods that took a little while for her to warm up to. I scraped her first tastes of shrimp off of the dining room floor. Now, I can’t keep her tray full enough.

We’re all very big fans of anything that we can wrap up in a tortilla. Wraps, quesadillas, tacos, and fajitas – and we had a longer than sane discussion over taco vs fajita 🙂 Far from the usual Tex-Mex which can get pretty heavy, we love lighter, brighter “fresh Mex” dishes. This dish pairs tomatillos – which make a wonderfully sweet salsa when roasted – and shrimp into cheesy shrimp fajitas. Adorned with mexican cheese and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, it’s perfect dinner-on-the-patio fare.

Tomatillo Shrimp Fajitas

If tomatillos are in season, make your own salsa: quarter 4 of them and place them in a small baking dish with a clove of garlic, a 1/4-inch thick sliced onion round, and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast at 425 until browned. Cool slightly and place in a blender with a small handful of cilantro and the juice of half a lime.

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp canola oil
  • 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
  • 3 sliced onion rounds, 1/4-inch thick
  • 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined uncooked shrimp, thawed if frozen
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (or your favorite green salsa)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 8 small tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese or Monterrey jack
  • Small handful cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onion and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping just as the vegetables begin to brown.
  3. Add shrimp and garlic and stir-fry 4-5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.
  4. Add salsa and cook for 1 minute.
  5. Fill tortillas with shrimp mixture. Top with cheese, cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.

Notes

Yields: 4 Servings

Adapted from Sargento Cheese

Estimated time: 20 minutes

This post was sponsored by Sargento Cheese. Confections of a Foodie Bride has partnered with Sargento to share recipes highlighting their cheeses. I was compensated for the ingredients used and my time. As always, all opinions are expressed are mine.

16 comments… add one
  • Liking the new look- this looks wonderful!

  • Good idea about introducing different foods to your baby early!

    I recall that many the foods I loved as a kid, I no longer like, and vice versa. Of course, I grew up on franken-food! Sugary cereals, white bread, etc. The “real food” stuff I used to hate I now love! Funny how that works…

  • luv ur recipe,sounds delicious,.

  • I love that you are teaching your baby to not be a picky eater! I think picky eating is all about conditioning. 🙂 When I was a little my mom made us try at least a couple of bites of everything, even if we thought we didn’t like it. I maybe didn’t love everything at the time, but have grown up willing to eat almost anything!

  • I have been trying to do the same thing with my baby! Granted, my little guy doesn’t have teeth yet so I’m limited. But it would be a shame to have a picky eater when I love to cook so much. So far the only objections we’ve had is to avocado, but I’m not giving up on that one.

  • My poor son…I don’t eat shrimp so it will be a long time before he tries it! Glad your little girl loved it.

  • These look delicious and so fresh!! That’s awesome that your baby loves sushi and prosciutto!!!! So cute 🙂

  • That is so awesome that you are making such an effort to expose her to everything early! And these fajitas look delicious…but then again I don’t think you can go wrong with fajitas. 😉

  • Can you come to my house and teach my child to eat more interesting foods?! She’s got the stubborn Polish streak in her, just like me. Either way, I’m making these soon! Once my tomatillos grow!!!

  • How lucky are you that she is willing to try. My grand babies won’t try anything unless it is in the shape of a hot dog and drowning in ketchup. But my grandson does love his shrimp (dipped in ketchup), will have to give your fajitas a go on Mexican night see if I can get the little demons to try or just dip in ketchup 🙂

  • Congrats on top 9!!!
    I love fresh-Mex dishes, too. Those plump shrimps look so appetizing!

  • This looks lovely, tomatillos intimidate me, but maybe I will soon forgo the can and roast mine fresh.

  • Made these tonight and they were delicious! Can’t wait to share them on my blog on Monday!

  • Kelly

    These turned out fantastic! And the tomatillo salsa was so easy and packed with flavor. My 12 year old son couldn’t stop eating it.

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