Tex-Mex Egg Rolls

Post # 136

Today my daughter Casey,  my grandsons and I made Tex-Mex Egg Rolls.  I looked at about 2 dozen recipes on the internet and then put together our own recipe of what we had on hand and what we like. Since this is only the second time I have fried egg rolls I still don't know what I am doing and got them a little crispy but this is what they look like.  They weren't jaundice yellow...that is just weird lighting or something.

Casey and I thought they were wonderful, my grandsons thought they would gag a maggot but they are 9 and 10.  I fed them leftover chili and leftover 7 layer dip from last night and Casey and I happily ate egg rolls until we were stuffed.  We tried them plain, dipped in sour cream, dipped in picante sauce and dipped in guacamole.  They were all good!  This is what the filling looks like.  I had probably 1 & 1/2 cups left over.  What do you suggest I do with it besides make egg rolls?

And this is what my counter looked like AFTER Casey cleaned up the biggest part of our mess.  Rachel Ray's counter never looks like this.  Notice the jello box? No, I didn't intend to make jello.  When my grandsons got the already opened box of crackers out of the cabinet a box of jello was in there with the remaining crackers.  Things like that just happen at my house.  The crackers nor the jello have anything to do with the egg rolls.  My grandsons just chose to eat chili and crackers instead of these wonderfully delicious egg rolls. If you would like to try them here is what you do....

Buy a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinse them off with hot water and put in your crock pot.  Add salt, pepper and water just enough to cover them and turn on the crockpot.  You need to do this the day before you want to make egg rolls or earlier in the day.  When the chicken falls apart when forked remove from the liquid, place on a cutting board and shred. Refrigerate until you are ready to add the remaining ingredients. Alot of the time I cook several packages of chicken breasts all together then when I shred the chicken I divide it into 2 or 3 cup servings and freeze what I don't need to use in casseroles another day. 

Filling

3 cups cooked and shredded chicken breasts

1 cup black beans, drained

1 cup frozen corn straight out of the bag

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (red bell peppers were $1.99 each,

green bell peppers were 79 cents so I used a green bell pepper but red would

have been pretty)

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 - 4.5 oz can of chopped green chilis

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

canola oil for frying

1 package of egg roll wraps

bowl of water for dipping fingers in to seal the egg roll wraps

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Combine everything except the canola oil and egg roll wraps in a large bowl and stir until well blended. 

Follow package directions for constructing egg rolls.  We didn't measure out the filling, we just put what we thought would do in the middle of the egg roll wrap.  We like them pretty plump, I wouldn't skimp on the filling.  Some of ours were a little thin and why I had a cup and a half of filling left over.

Carefully separate the egg roll wraps, they are very thin and easily stick together. 

When you have all your egg rolls made put about 2 to 3 inches of canola oil in a small saucepan and heat.

The oil needs to be really hot so the egg rolls don't just sit it in and soak it up.  Be very careful!  Hot oil spills cause very painful burns. Using tongs gently slide an egg roll into the hot oil. When one side looks done turn it over.  It only takes less than a minute if your oil is hot.  Place on a plate covered in paper towels to obsorb oil.  I used my smallest sauce pan and I could cook 2 egg rolls at a time.  These will be very hot so let them cool a bit before serving.  Eat them plain or dip in sour cream, picante sauce, or guacamole.  Freeze leftover egg rolls. Thaw and warm in a microwave when you are ready to eat them.  Yuck!  I thawed some out for lunch today and freezing was not a good idea. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shredded beef (leftover roast?) would probably be really good too