Catfish Out of Water

I have been in a fajitas mood lately. I made a big batch of Slow Cooker Black Beans w/ Super Chili Peppers and Quinoa w/ Summer Squash & Super Chili Peppers. So, I've been going down a Latin American-inspired food rabbit hole with burritos, breakfast burritos, fajitas, more burritos, and even more burritos. No joke, I made 4 distinct types of burritos. I'm actually pretty impressed by the number of meals that I've been able to get out of two very easy dishes to toss together. Slow cooker black beans and quinoa both only take about 15 minutes to toss into a crock pot and rice cooker. The rest is just time. Hence, the surprisingly simple and absolutely delicious Fajitas w/ Black Beans, Quinoa, & Yellow Tomatoes.

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I almost roasted the yellow cherry tomatoes. You could easily pop them on the barbecue or toss them into an air fryer. If I had people over or hadn't just roasted Oaxaca Cheese-stuffed La Bomba Peppers, I probably would have! Although this is already a pretty extensive dish to make for just little old me. One of the great things about making recipes like Slow Cooker Black Beans w/ Super Chili Peppers and Quinoa w/ Summer Squash & Super Chili Peppers is that they keep really well in the refrigerator. You don't have to make everything the same day.

If anything, dishes like beans and quinoa are better the next day when all of the peppers and spices have had a chance to seep in. Much like soups and stews, a lot of the flavor takes time to fully incorporate. Not that they aren't great piping hot out of the crock pot! But there is a reason that it's called a slow cooker. Sometimes it takes time for the flavors to permeate. Especially when it comes to cooking with hot peppers as well: they're going to be much spicier and more flavorful over time. So, don't be afraid to make parts of this recipe a day or two ahead of time.

Variations of Quinoa Fajitas

I make a lot of recipes that are fajita-adjacent. Although I ended up picking up a set of cast iron pans with wooden bases that are specifically designed for fajitas. So, maybe I'll start branching into more of them in the future. There are very few kitchen gadgets that I don't already have these days. Which does make it pretty exciting to have something new to play with! You can also make corn tortillas, if you're feeling in the culinary mood today. They're simpler to make than they look.

Fajitas w/ Black Beans, Zucchini, & Bell Peppers

The Fundamentals of Corn Tortillas

Fajitas w/ Black Beans, Quinoa, & Summer Squash

Fajitas w/ Black Beans, Quinoa, & Yellow Tomatoes

These Quinoa Fajitas consist of avocado, lime, black beans w/ yellow onion & garlic, and quinoa w/ yellow summer squash & red bell peppers.

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 2 servings

Equipment

• Crock Pot (or Large Pot & Stovetop)
• Rice Cooker
• Air Fryer
• Skillet (Preferably Cast Iron)
• Stovetop

Ingredients

  

Black Beans

• 2 lbs. black beans (~2 cups)
• 3 super chili peppers minced
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• dash smoked paprika
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 6 bay leaves
• 6 c. water
• 2 limes juiced

Quinoa

• 1 yellow summer squash diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 3 super chili peppers (optional) minced
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. quinoa
• 3 c. water

Stuffed Peppers

• 6 la bomba peppers deveined, deseeded (or pepper of choice)
• 6 oz. Oaxaca cheese (or cheese of choice)

Fajitas

• 1 summer squash sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper sliced
• 2 red ember peppers minced
• dollop olive oil
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1/2 avocado sliced
• 6 yellow cherry tomatoes
• 1 lime sliced & juiced

Instructions

 

Black Beans

• Add all of the other ingredients to a crock pot.
• Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the desired consistency is reached. I like to start the beans in the morning and then come back to then after work or before bed to wake up to freshly cooked beans.
• Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Quinoa

• Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger produce and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. And then add the quinoa and water.
• Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
• When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.
• Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach Teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom.

Fajitas

• Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat with high heat oil.

  I have a fajita serving skillet that you can see in the photos above. However, it's important to note that this is for serving only. While it is an actual cast iron skillet that can be used to cook, it's not large enough to cook a full batch of produce down.

  So, I used a larger skillet and then heated the ornamental one and transferred it afterwards for presentation. This is a little ridiculous and I'd recommend just putting everything on a plate! But this is an option, if you'd like to be as excessive as I was here.
• Add thinly sliced produce to the skillet and cook for 7-10 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally in order to cook evenly. The edges of the peppers should lightly char.
• Remove from heat.
• Plate with beans, quinoa, peppers, tomatoes, sliced avocado, lime wedges, and a dash of salt and pepper.