Tex Mex Egg Rolls!

Happy Football Sunday everyone! Now that we are back in football season and the weather will be getting cooler, I am very excited to get back into the kitchen and make some tasty snacks and treats! I hope that everyone had a great summer and has some exciting things planned for the season ahead!

Around my birthday, my sister and I went to Cheesecake Factory and had their Tex Mex egg rolls. They were delicious, and afterwards my sister was craving them. She found a great recipe from Ree Drummond (aka. The Pioneer Woman) who is one of my favorite Food Network Stars. Ree has a similar mentality that I do when it comes to cooking, keep it simple, yet wholesome, and she always gets so much joy out of cooking for those she loves. With that in mind, I knew this was a recipe I could trust!

Please follow the link to the original recipe posting here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tex-mex-egg-rolls-with-creamy-cilantro-dipping-sauce-recipe.html

I changed up a few ingredients based on what I could find in the grocery store and what I had around the house.

For this recipe you will need:
1 package of Spanish rice - I used the 90 second microwavable bags - it's quicker!
1 lb. ground pork sausage - found in the breakfast meat section - you don't want italian sausage, because it will change the flavor 
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese - you can use whatever you want, the mexican blend would be great too! 
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 package taco seasoning
25 egg roll wrappers - I found these in the produce section, next to the tofu
1 egg lightly beaten

Equipment:
Skillet
Can opener
Mixing bowls
A fryer, or a large skillet pan with about 1-2 inches of vegetable oil heated to 375. 

Note: If you do not have a thermometer, simply take a small pice of egg roll wrapper and drop it in. If it starts to sizzle and gently fry - you are good. If it turns dark brown quickly, your oil is too hot, if it does not sizzle much the oil is too cold and the egg rolls with soak up too much oil. If you have a fryer, simply set it to 375 and allow the oil to heat up while you roll the egg rolls.

To make the egg rolls... begin a bit earlier by cooking your rice and your pork sausage. Simply microwave the rice and pour into a bowl. In a large skillet, break up your ground pork and allow to cook fully over medium heat. Using your spatula, make sure to break up the sausage into tiny, smaller than bite sized pieces so that it mixes well throughout the egg rolls, and you don't end up with large chunks. Once cooked, transfer your pork sausage to a paper plate with a paper towel on it to drain off the excess oil. Allow your rice and sausage to cool almost completely. I am a very impatient person, so I put my rice and sausage into the refrigerator while I prepped the other ingredients.

To prep your other ingredients, grab your can opener. I absolutely love recipes that have multiple canned items, because it cuts down on chopping and dicing and potentially cutting your fingers off. To begin, simply open your can of black beans, rain out the liquid and rinse the beans. The easiest way to do this is using a colander. Next, open up your diced tomatoes. Since you will be using the liquid in the can, do not drain these. Lastly, finely chop your green onions. Make sure you discard the very end of the bulbs, as they are too tough. If the tops of the green onions seem to be very flimsy, you can leave those out. You want the green onions to add a crunch to the egg rolls, so you don't want soggy onion bits!

Now you are ready to mix it all together! I used two large bowls to do this because there is a lot of filling to deal with. In one bowl, I mixed the rice and sausage together. In another bowl, mix the beans, tomatoes (and liquid), onions, cheese, and taco seasoning. Once you have everything working together, you can add in the sausage and rice mixture. Stir everything together until all of your ingredients are entirely incorporated. If you like a bit more spice, now is where you can have a little fun and add in some hot sauce, sriracha, or cayenne pepper if you would like!

Ok - so here is the fun part. Rolling egg rolls may seem like a difficult task. I am sure you have eaten them tons of times along with your chinese food, but people tend to shy away from making them at home, since the egg roll wrappers may seem a little daunting. Hopefully I can make it easy for you with this step by step process:

1.) Take your egg roll wrappers out of the package and set them on a plate. Egg roll wrappers tend to dry out really fast. It help if you dampen a paper towel and place it over your egg roll wrappers to keep them moist (ew.. that word.)

2.) You will need a glue to help hold your egg rolls together. To do this, crack 1 large egg into a small bowl. Add a splash of water and whisk them together.

3.) Place an egg roll wrapper down on a dry clean surface, like the counter top or a cutting board. Using your finger or a small cooking brush, dab the egg mixture along the 4 edges of the egg roll. Arrange your egg roll wrapper so that it looks like a diamond shape (as opposed to a square) when your looking at it.

4.) Take about 1/3 of a cup of the tex mex mixture and place it down towards the bottom corner of the egg roll wrapper. Taking the bottom corner, begin to roll it up towards the top, tucking it in under the mixture. Now take the right corner and bring it in towards the center, and then take the left corner and bring it in towards the center also. If you feel like you need to, you can add a little more egg mixture to the egg roll to make sure everything sticks together.

5.) Now, gently and tightly roll the rest of your egg roll up towards the top corner. Make sure that your top corner is nice and sealed when you are finished rolling.

Continue this process until all of your mixture is rolled into the egg roll wrappers. I do not recommend multitasking here and rolling and frying at the same time. These babies fry up quickly and you don't want to lose control of them in the fryer and end up with burnt egg rolls.

When you are ready to fry your egg rolls, place one roll on a slotted spoon or spatula and gently lower the egg roll into your hot oil. You don't want to just toss these in, as they are fairly dense and can splash a lot of oil onto you if you are not careful. Let the egg rolls fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. You can gently nudge them around to make sure they cook evenly, but don't fuss with them too much, or the egg roll wrappers can break open. When they are fried, remove them and let drain on a paper towel or wire rack.

When you are ready to eat, serve these with a quick Cilantro Dipping Sauce by mixing up one container of greek yogurt, with a bunch of chopped cilantro and the juice of one lime to add a tangy, cool taste to the egg rolls.

I served these to my very hungry and very thankful sister and her boyfriend Justin. They were a hit! These would be a great addition to your next house party or tailgating event. I cannot wait to try to make Chinese egg rolls and Philly Cheesesteak egg rolls soon!

If you wanted to make these a little (or a lot) healthier, you can bake the egg rolls. Simple place your rolls on a baking sheet, spray lightly with cooking spray to mimic the crunch you get when frying, and bake for 16 minutes in a 400 degree oven, turning mid-way through. These still give you the great tex mex egg rolls flavor and crispiness without frying them. Just don't serve them next to the fried ones, because no matter how strong a person is, if they have to choose, they will go fried, and who can blame them!?

(Left) Fried (Right) Baked - Which would you choose?

I really hope you all enjoyed this post and learned something new. Please give these a try in your kitchen and let me know what other fillings you think would be good in these! I have a very busy fall ahead of me, but I am always looking for new recipes, tips, and tricks to try out and share with you.

Check back next week for another post!!