I love recipes that are easily varied to suit your tastes, and Southwestern Egg Rolls is certainly one of those!  I have always had a major crush on the Southwestern Egg Rolls at Chili’s and figured I could probably save a lot of money and satisfy many cravings, by just making something similar at home.

This time I made them more picky-eater-friendly for my kids, meaning no spinach or peppers.  They were tasty, but I was still missing that kick.  So, next time it’s my turn to make them my way, and I can’t wait.  Oh, baby.


Well, so here’s the list ingredients, and most everything is optional.

Filling:

2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup corn, cooked
2/3 cup canned black beans, drained
2 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped
2 TBS red bell pepper, minced
2 TBS canned jalapeno peppers, minced
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. lime peel, grated

Oil, for frying
Egg roll wrappers, refrigerated

Dip:

1 avocado, ripe and mashed
1 cup ranch dressing
Optional: squeeze of lime, fresh chopped cilantro, onion powder, garlic powder…

Alright, so take all your filling ingredients and put them in a bowl, stir together.   

To make life easier, you could always use a store-bought (hot & ready) rotisserie chicken to shred.  Or, what I like to do is buy a ton of chicken at Costco, cook it in the crock pot, shred it, put a couple cups in Ziploc bags, then freeze them all.  Whenever I have a meal that calls for chicken, I just pull out one of my frozen bags…which is what I did for this recipe.

Heat up some canola oil in a frying pan to 375 degrees, about 1 inch deep.  Meanwhile, prepare your egg rolls.  Take a wrapper, place a heap of filling in the middle.  Fold up the bottom corner around the filling, fold in the sides, and roll the egg roll until it meets the top corner.  Dip your finger in water and use the water to seal the top corner flap of the egg roll.

As soon as your oil is hot, they’re ready to fry!

Slip them in the hot oil and let fry for a couple minutes on each side, or until they turn a golden brown.  Remove and set on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

For the dip, mash your avocado in a bowl, with a fork.  Add 1 cup of ranch dressing and stir together.  If you want a little extra flavor, you can add things like a squeeze of lime, finely chopped cilantro, onion powder and/or garlic powder, to taste.  Or, you can just leave it basic.  P.S.  my favorite ranch dressing is the LiteHouse Homestyle Ranch, found in the produce/refrigerated section of grocery stores.

That’s it.  Dip, eat, enjoy.

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch Dip
makes approx 12 egg rolls
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Southwestern Eggrolls

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
  • 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
  • 2/3 cup corn cooked
  • 2/3 cup canned black beans drained
  • 2 TBS fresh cilantro chopped
  • 2 TBS red bell pepper minced
  • 2 TBS canned jalapeno peppers minced
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach thawed and drained
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp. lime peel grated
  • Oil for frying
  • 1 avocado ripe and mashed
  • 1 cup ranch dressing
  • Egg roll wrappers refrigerated

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients: chicken, cheese, corn, black beans, cilantro, red pepper, jalapeno, spinach, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and lime peel. All ingredients are optional, to your taste.
  2. Pour oil into fry pan (about 1 inch high) and heat to 375 degrees.
  3. Place a few heaping TBS of the filling onto an egg roll wrapper and roll up according to the instructions on package.
  4. Slip the uncooked rolls into the hot oil and fry for a couple minutes on each side, until the roll turns a golden brown.
  5. Let cool on paper towels.
  6. For the dressing, mix mashed avocado with ranch dressing.
  7. Optional, add a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro.

   
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