RECIPE: Southwest Egg Rolls

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This is probably one of my favorites and I'm making it tonight. The original recipe came from Taste of Home Magazine. The dipping sauce is nothing short of awesome and I usually serve this with a side of rice. I've been making this recipe for 2 years but we just recently discovered that my hubby is the best egg roll wrapper ever! Mine always look horrible (still taste delicious) but his get rolled up perfectly. Therefore, he is now the "official" egg roll wrapper at our house.

You've heard me talk before about meal planning. Here's how I saved $ on the ingredients for this recipe. I picked up canned corn and beans last week at Publix with the Italian Days Sale. I also picked up some Sargento shredded cheese on the cheap with my prints from Coupons.com. Chicken & avocados were on sale at Kroger. A lime & cilantro is pretty cheap and I have never been able to find the egg roll wrappers on sale so I picked those up yesterday. All the remaining ingredients came from items already on hand in my pantry or fridge. :)

SOUTHWEST EGG ROLLS

Egg rolls:

• 2-1/2 cups chicken
• 1-1/2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
• 2/3 cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 2/3 cup black beans, drained
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 t. grated lime peel
• 1 pkg. egg roll wrappers
• vegetable oil

Dip Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup ranch salad dressing
• 1 T. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 T. lime juice

Cook chicken and then shred or chunk into small pieces. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, corn, beans, onions, cumin, pepper, 1/4 cup cilantro and lime peel. Place 1/4 cup of this mixture into the center of a wrapper and roll up. Use pastry brush dipped in water to seal. Prepare all egg rolls. Then, heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry 2-3 egg rolls at a time for 2 minutes on each side. When golden brown, remove and allow to drain on a paper towel. To prepare dip, peel and mash the avocado. Mix with ranch, 1 Tablespoon of cilantro and lime juice. Delicious!