Fall is here! Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love watching the leaves falling and filling the streets with their natural reds, oranges, and yellows. The air is cool and crisp. It’s also pumpkin season, and if you ask anyone who knows me, they know my obsession with all things pumpkin! If you ask my husband what his favorite thing about fall is he’s going to say one thing, football. He loves the game. He also loves inviting people over to watch the game together and making it into a big event that’s fun for everyone, including the kids. One way to have a great football get together is food. Food is my jam. I have a great crowd-pleasing recipe that is perfect for a football game get together or any other party. They are called Southwest Egg Rolls, and they are ridiculously amazing.
This recipe is great because you do most of the work ahead of time. The egg rolls need to be frozen at least overnight, before frying or baking them, which leaves you extra time on game day to relax or fix other yummy goodies for your family to enjoy. This recipe may seem daunting at first glance, but it’s not too complicated. Plus, once you’ve made them you will have a freezer full for the season.
Ingredients:
2-3 medium sized chicken breasts
Olive oil for sautéing
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeños depending on how much heat you want, deseeded and finely diced, or 1-3 cup pickled jalapeños, finely diced
1 can or 1 1/4 cups homemade black beans, drained
1 1⁄4 cups frozen corn
1 can green chiles
1 1⁄4 cups frozen spinach, heated up, and excess water squeezed out
1/3 cup prepackaged or homemade taco seasoning
3 cups shredded Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack or other cheddar blend cheese
10-15 6 inch flour tortillas
6-10 cups oil for frying, optional
Toothpicks
Directions:
1. Coat chicken breast with a few tablespoons of taco seasoning, reserve the rest for later.
2. Either heat your grill or sauté pan with oil on medium heat to cook chicken breast. If you have a grill at your disposal to cook your chicken, it will give the chicken a better flavor. If not, sauté your chicken in a skillet over medium heat with a little oil, turning it until it’s cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest.
3. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a few seconds, then add onions, peppers, and jalapeños. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. In the meantime, once the chicken has cooled, finely dice it. While it chicken is cooling place frozen spinach in a hand towel, wrap it up, microwave it until thawed, then ring out the remaining liquid. Coarsely dice spinach.
4. Once the vegetables are tender, add chicken, beans, corn, green chiles and taco seasoning. Stir well. Add spinach, incorporating well.
5. Once well mixed and evenly distributed, turn off heat and add cheese a little at a time. It will melt quickly and get thick, but the cheese will help hold it all together.
6. Lay out a tortilla. In the center of the tortilla add 1⁄3-1/2 cup of the mixture. Fold in sides, then roll egg rolls up, secure with a toothpick. Set aside on a sheet pan. Repeat. Once all the egg rolls are rolled, freeze on a sheet pan, then transfer to gallon-size freezer bags. They need to be frozen overnight or until solid before being fried.
7. When you’re ready to cook the egg rolls, heat oil in a large pot over medium low heat. It’s important that you don’t get the oil too hot or the outside of the tortillas will be overcooked, and the inside will still be frozen. Slowly add 2-3 egg rolls to the heated oil. You need to keep rotating the egg rolls to cook evenly. They will need to fry for 10-12 minutes. To make sure the egg roll is cooked through to the center and not frozen in the middle, poke a toothpick into the fried tortilla, and if it goes through easily, it’s done. If it has resistance in the center, cook it a little longer. Another option is to bake the eggrolls. Place eggrolls on a sheet pan and spray with canola spray. Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes, until browned and hot in the center.
8. Let cool, remove toothpik.Slice the egg rolls lengthwise at a diagonal. Serve with sour cream or guacamole.
Coat chicken breast with a few tablespoons of taco seasoning, reserve the rest for later.
Either heat your grill or sauté pan with oil on medium heat to cook chicken breast. If you have a grill at your disposal to cook your chicken, it will give the chicken a better flavor. If not, sauté your chicken in a skillet over medium heat with a little oil, turning it until it’s cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest.
Finely dice garlic, onions, and peppers. These are frozen peppers I diced up. Sometimes I have frozen sliced peppers in the freezer that I stock up on when they are on sale. I slice them up and freeze them on sheet pans until solid, then store them in gallon bags. These work great for this recipe or any recipe that you need to saute pepper for.
In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a few seconds, then add onions, peppers, jalapeños and taco seasoning. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.
In the meantime, once the chicken has cooled, finely dice it.
While it chicken is cooling place frozen spinach in a hand towel, wrap it up,
microwave it until thawed,
then ring out the remaining liquid.
Coarsely dice spinach.
Once the vegetables are tender, add chicken, beans, corn, green chiles. Stir well.
Add spinach, incorporating well.
Once well mixed and evenly distributed, turn off heat,
add cheese.
It will melt quickly and get thick, but the cheese will help hold it all together.
Lay out a tortilla. In the center of the tortilla add 1⁄3-1/2 cup of the mixture.
Fold in sides,
then roll egg rolls up,
Secure with a toothpick. Set aside on a sheet pan. Repeat.
Once all the egg rolls are rolled, freeze on a sheet pan, then transfer to gallon-size freezer bags. They need to be frozen overnight or until solid before being fried.
When you’re ready to cook the egg rolls, heat oil in a large pot over medium low heat. It’s important that you don’t get the oil too hot or the outside of the tortillas will be overcooked, and the inside will still be frozen. Slowly add 2-3 egg rolls to the heated oil. You need to keep rotating the egg rolls to cook evenly. They will need to fry for 10-12 minutes. To make sure the egg roll is cooked through to the center and not frozen in the middle, poke a toothpick into the fried tortilla, and if it goes through easily, it’s done. If it has resistance in the center, cook it a little longer.
Another option is to bake the eggrolls. Place eggrolls on a sheet pan and spray with canola spray.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes, until browned and hot in the center.
Remove toothpick.
Let cool. Slice the egg rolls lengthwise at a diagonal. Serve with sour cream or guacamole.
Click here for the Southwest Egg Rolls printable!
My husband and I got married very young and started a family right away. Life has been a series of many trials that we have had to work through, like having a daughter with severe ADHD, moving to 4 different states in 2 years, health problems and just life in general. Through the years the Lord has shown me so much grace and love and has taught me so much about how to be humble, show love and grace.
Each day I strive to be the best mama and wife I can be and fulfill the calling the Lord has placed in my life. I have a passion to help other mamas in any way I can. I am still a work in progress and make mistakes like everyone else and am nowhere near perfect but I am learning to pick myself up, forgive myself and keep seeking the Lord in all I do.
We are finally settled in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado for the past few years where the Lord has allowed us to build a house and grow roots. He brought me the Help Club for Moms and the amazing community I get to be a part of.
- Look for the JOY in Each Day - June 30, 2022
- It’s Been a Tough Day - August 29, 2021
- Thanksgiving Turkey Enchiladas - November 23, 2020