Nonsequitur Life

I don’t typically jump on eggroll recipes for a number of reasons. The frying and grease splatter for one. And as much as I love Chinese food, I’m not crazy about eggrolls.

And then I came across a recipe titled Baked Southwestern Eggrolls and I read on. Baked…no frying, no grease. Also healthier. Southwestern…that generally implies a Mexican inspired food. And if there’s a food I love more than Chinese food (other than say…caramel filled chocolate) it’s Mexican food.

The only thing that makes them “eggrolls” is the eggroll wrapper, but they’re good nonetheless. And not too bad on the nutritional scale either.

They can be served on their own as an appetizer or a meal. I usually make some Mexican rice to serve along side.

Baked Southwestern Eggrolls

Originally from here.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen corn (thawed)
1-15oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1-10oz package frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)*
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend**
1-4oz can diced green chiles (drained)
4 green onions (chopped)
1 Tbsp taco seasoning***
20 eggroll wrappers (approximate depending on how much filling you use in each)
Small bowl of water for sealing wrappers.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Combine all indredients (except eggroll wrappers) in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Lay out one eggroll wrapper on a flat work surface (cutting board works well here) with one corner pointing toward you.

Spread approximately 1/4 cup of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner (point closest to you) up over filling and start to roll.

Fold in each of the side corners to the center and roll until a small part of the remaining corner is still open. (about 1 inch or so of wrapper)

Dip your finger in water and brush lightly, covering the remaining corner. Finish rolling to seal shut.

Repeat until you run out of filling or wrappers.

Place sealed eggrolls seam-side down on prepared baking sheets. Spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray.

Bake for about 15 minutes, turning halfway through bake time. (Individual ovens vary, it may take more or less time to bake.) The wrappers should be brown and crispy.

Makes approximately 20 eggrolls.

Serve warm with salsa, guacamole, or just plain.

They take a little work to prepare, but they’re worth the effort. I’ve made these several times and they’re always good even with substitutions. I’ve used both frozen and fresh spinach. (I prefer the fresh.) I’ve used red onion (about 1/2 cup chopped) when I didn’t have any green onions. I’ve added meat (crumbled bacon makes everything better). It’s all good.

* I actually prefer fresh baby spinach. I think it has a better flavor. I don’t have an exact measurement as to how much I use, but I would approximate 2 cups of [packed] fresh spinach. And then I either tear it by hand or rough chop before throwing it in the bowl.

** We never buy shredded cheese (except mozzarella for pizza) but we always have a 2-pound block of Colby-Jack in the fridge. I put 2 cups of shredded cheese in a gallon-size ziplock bag with about 2 Tbsp of taco seasoning, seal and shake until well coated. You can use more or less seasoning to your specific taste.

*** Packaged taco seasoning is all well and good, but making your own is easy, has better flavor, and no funky additives.

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp powdered oregano
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

This will cover 1lb. of ground beef. (Or one batch of taco dip. Omnomnom.)

I usually double it and keep it in a sealed bottle with the rest of my spices to use in various cooking experiments.

*ETA…it wasn’t until Bob pointed it out to me that I noticed I am missing an N in seasoning on my label. It’s been that way for at least six months. Ooops.

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