Southwestern Egg Rolls with Creamy Avocado Sauce: Take 2

My husband was going through some of my old posts the other day and came across these Southwestern Egg Rolls.  I made them last Thanksgiving as an appetizer.  He asked me to make them again, so when it was time to make a meal plan for Labor Day, I added these to the menu.  When I went back to my original post about them, I was mortified.  I committed a REALLY big blogging no-no.  Not only did I use someone else’s photo, I also just copied and pasted the recipe straight from their blog!  Now, bloggers love when you share their recipes and posts, but they want traffic.  So even though I linked to them and gave credit, in essence, I stole their traffic by using their photo AND recipe word-for-word.  Fortunately, it was early on in my blogging “career” and my tens of followers probably didn’t matter to them anyway.  I have fixed that problem by using their photo but only including part of the recipe.  You have to click over to their site to see the rest of it now.  Phew! AND, this time around I changed quite a few things, so it’s safe to call it my own recipe, inspired by a pin.

Now, onto MY recipe.  In a post with MY photos.  Like a decent and well-informed blogger. (Hey, you learn and grow with experience, right?)

Southwestern Egg Rolls & Creamy Avocado Sauce

Adapted from Cake and Allie

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 box (9 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
• 2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles, drained
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 2 packages (16 oz.) egg roll wrappers
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together corn, beans, spinach, cheese, chiles, onions and seasoning
2. Scoop 2 tbsp of filling onto the bottom third of a wrapper.  Starting at a corner, roll over the filling, tucking in the sides as you continue to roll. Wet your finger tips and run over the seams to seal.
3. In a frying pan, heat an inch of oil on med-high heat.  Add a few egg rolls to the oil.  Leave plenty of room between each one (I did four at a time).  Cook on each side for about 30 seconds, until golden brown.  Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

Creamy Avocado Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp buttermilk (make your own by mixing 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to sour.  Freeze the leftover buttermilk in an ice-cube tray for later)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 green onion chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 avocado, pitted and peeled

Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.  Serve immediately. Mmmmm!

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Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad Sandwich

From the plump grapes and fresh apples to the sweet cranberries, this lightened up sandwich won’t even taste healthy!

When Jason came to visit last weekend, I sent him off with some freezer-friendly meals and a batch of chicken pesto along with a loaf of bread. With his crazy school schedule, I know that he doesn’t have much time to cook and he’s even lost about 10 pounds in a semester so I always bug him about what he’s eaten.

So with that in mind, here’s how our phone conversation went last night:

          Me: Did you have dinner yet? What’d you eat?

          Jason: The chicken pesto you made me.

          Me: So you made a sandwich?

          Jason: No. I ate it by itself.

          Me: (confused) Why didn’t you eat it with the bread?

          Jason: Because it tastes better without it.

Boys, right? At least he’s eating so I guess I can’t complain too much!

So as you can tell from the chicken pesto I made not too long ago, I love making a chicken salad type mixture and lightening it up with Greek yogurt (my new obsession). And that’s exactly what I did here with a blend of so many fun ingredients, from the tart apples, to the sweet cranberries and the juicy, plump grapes. With some freshly squeezed lemon juice and garlic powder, you won’t be missing the mayo at all!

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GREEK YOGURT CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH

Prep Time10 minutes

Total Time10 minutes

Yield4 servings

From the plump grapes and fresh apples to the sweet cranberries, this lightened up sandwich won’t even taste healthy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup diced apple
• 2/3 cup grapes, halved
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 rolls ciabatta bread, toasted, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large bowl, combine chicken, red onion, apple, grapes, dried cranberries or currants, sliced almonds, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Serve sandwiches on ciabatta bread with chicken mixture.

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