I love being an AF wife... the travel, the adventure... there is nothing like it... but, there are some things I dearly miss about living back in the Good Ol' US of A... pay at the pump, craft stores, and every now and then I just get a craving for a favorite dish from a dining experience after church or on a date night! Now, don't get me wrong, we have eaten at some great places over here (nothing beats the pizzas in Tuscany or the Lasagna at Da Leo) but, you know what I mean... sometimes that craving hits and it is so strong it just makes your mouth start watering with the longing for it. One of my favorite things to eat at Chili's is their Southwestern Egg Rolls and I was craving them big time... so I turned to my favorite food website out there... All Recipes and did a search... there were a few recipes on there that sounded pretty close and once I added a few of my adaptations, this is what I came up with...now, I admit, they aren't exactly like Chili's and you still have to serve yourself and clean up the mess when you are done, but ... hey - these are certainly better for you and the price is right for a family of six!
Southwestern Egg Rolls
1 lb (about) boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can yellow corn (I use organic, sodium free)
1 can black beans (again, organic, sodium free)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup mexican shredded cheese
1 small purple onion
1 pkg lumpia wrappers
Chop up your chicken in to bite sized (I mean small people!) pieces.
Throw them into a large skillet (I actually use my wok just because I like the deepness of it.) with a small bit of olive oil and saute.
While chicken is sauteing, dice (again, small bites!) the onion and add to the pan (wok). Continue cooking until the chicken is done. Add the cumin and chili powder (you can just use taco seasoning here if you want, but I try to stay away from all the prepackaged stuff and make my own seasoning mixes). Once the seasoning is all mixed in, take a sample bite (you know you want to!) and make sure you've got enough flavor on the chicken. Rinse and drain the black beans and drain the corn, stir in to the chicken/onion mixture. Add the cilantro... if it doesn't look very green, add some more cilantro (you want an even dispersement of green through out the chicken mixture). When it looks nice and colorful (you could even throw in some red peppers to complete the rainbow of color and flavor!), remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Now, I admit, this is tricky for me... less is more on the cheese in this recipe and generally, that's not the way I flow - but having made these a few times, I always ere on the side of less cheese! You want the cheese to melt a bit, but not be a big clumpy runny mess.
Now comes the time consuming tricky part... rolling the egg rolls. I use lumpia wrappers (these are what I can consistently find at the commissary) and put a large spoonful of the chicken mixture in one corner and roll like you would a burrito. I don't know if this is the right way to roll an egg roll or not, but it works for me! Dampen the corner a bit and seal it shut. Now, I know, technically you fry an egg roll, but lets face it, none of us are getting any younger (and I still have a little baby fat that needs to go) so, I put my egg rolls on a cookie sheet and bake at about 450 for about 10 min, turn them and again for about another 10 min. They are done when the wrappers are good and crispy. I serve them with salsa and sour cream with some lime zest and cilantro mixed in. I have been told you can freeze these for a great late night snack, but honestly, they never last long enough in our house for me to try that!
