A few weeks ago I ventured back into the world of "let's make something bad for you not so bad for you." I had avoided that style of cooking for a while, opting to try to make some new recipes and try out some dishes I hadn't made before. For my first effort back into healthier comfort food I decided to make baked egg rolls and guess what...you won't be finding that recipe on this blog.
They were a bust...literally. The worst part was that I had told my in-laws I'd make dinner that night. The trouble started when I decided to assemble them at home and bake them at their house. The egg roll wrappers all stuck together and everyone of them tore to some degree when I pulled them off the plate but I decided to try and bake them anyway. I had to feed these people, right?
It was a failure all around. They were too salty, never got crispy, plus they stuck to the foil and busted open even more...what is an open-face egg roll? Well, that night...it was dinner. Everyone humored me and ate them, but I was once again reminded that feeding friends and family is not the ideal time to try a new recipe, much less a recipe that in no way resembles food that you eat on a daily basis.
So, that brings me to today. I was really craving Mexican food. I decided Southwestern Egg Rolls a la Chili's sounded great. Um yea...let's whip out those leftover egg roll wrappers and give them another shot. Yes! Brilliant idea!
I started by prepping the filling. I tried to remember what is in Chili's egg rolls and then decide what would work to keep these as healthy as they could be. I settled on black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, diced green chiles, corn, onion, and shredded chicken seasoned with red pepper flakes, garlic and cumin.
Earlier in the day I had started a crock pot of chicken breasts. I love the way shredded chicken comes out when I cook it that way. Usually I put the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot and cover it with whatever dried herbs sound good and then pour 100% natural chicken broth over the top until it just covers the meat and then cook on low for 5-6 hours. By the time the timer goes off, you can easily shred the chicken with a fork. This is a great way to meal prep. In fact, this week we will be having three dishes that incorporate this batch of shredded chicken. That may sound boring but it's just a matter of using it in different ways. We are having a Mexican meal, BBQ and Pizza. **note: drain all but approximately 1/4 cup of the broth before you shred the chicken**
Back to the Southwestern egg rolls. The filling was tasting really good so I went to the fridge and pulled out the leftover wrappers. Funny...I didn't remember the little black specs on the wrappers. Yea, evidently they aren't supposed to be there. Only at this moment did I take a better look at the package to see it said in bold letters "PERISHABLE- USE WITHIN 2 DAYS of OPENING." These guys were at least 2 weeks old and they looked it. Dang it.
I did what any woman who really wants her egg roll would do. I loaded up both kids (one of which had been playing in my make-up all afternoon and looked a fool) and headed to the grocery store. I headed straight to the refrigerator section where I was quite sure I bought the first package of wrappers. Guess what? Not there. I circled 3 or 4 times while my blue-eye-liner-clad pre-schooler made sure to yell how hungry she was at the top of her lungs every time another shopper passed by us.
Around that time I decided that my Southwestern Egg Rolls were now enchiladas. I headed to the register with my sad little can of enchilada sauce. I was ready to pay and go, but surely the barely-teenage girl who was running the register would know if they had egg roll wrappers, right? No. No, she didn't but she knew who to call. She pointed me toward a manager that looked to be all of four days older than she was and said he knew what I wanted.
I mustered up my last bit of hope, hoisted the baby back up onto my hip and dragged my starving kid back to the refrigerator section. I was hopeful for a minute as he seemed pretty sure of where he was heading, but sorry, no. I'm not looking for frozen pre-made egg rolls. He then took me to the the section I'd been circling earlier. You guess it...still not there.
I think the lesson is clear here. The universe wants me to give up this crazy baked egg roll dream...Southwestern or otherwise.
So, for dinner ended up with some pretty tasty enchiladas, green beans sauted in olive oil and garlic and watermelon. Bellies full, mission accomplished. Sort of.
Here is how I made them:
Start by sauteing a medium onion in 1tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Once the onion has softened add the garlic and continue cooking for about 4-5 minutes.
Stir your vegetable mix together well and add 2-3 shredded chicken breasts. I only wanted to make one meal, without a lot of leftovers, so I removed about 1/3 of the veg mix before adding the chicken. It will be part of my lunch this week. Since I had less vegetables, I only added 2 chicken breasts.
These are the tortillas I prefer to use. They are not "clean" but they are low-carb and fairly low-calorie. Also they have a texture very similar to a regular flour tortilla. I can't handle the "healthy" tortillas that turn slimy and fall apart when you try to use them.
Recipe:
Carb Balance Tortillas
1 14 oz can of enchilada sauce
1 med onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can organic fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 4oz can chopped green chilies
1 small bag of frozen corn or the kernels off 3 ears of corn
1/2 tsp (or more) cumin
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes (or less if you don't want a lot of spice)
2-3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c reduced fat cheddar cheese as topping
Assemble and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees
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