Day 170: Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

In my humble opinion, these were the best part of  the Thanksgiving  meal this year.  Granted, that may have been because it was noon and we were all starving.  The main attraction wasn't being served until 2:30, so we were stuffing ourselves with appetizers and snacks before our meal.  Either way, these egg rolls were so yummy! And I even failed to remember to put the cheese in the mixture! I rolled them on Wednesday morning and just stored them in the refrigerator.  This recipe calls for baking them, which would be healthier, but oven space is at a premium on Thanksgiving, and I was afraid they would be soggy after sitting all night.  So I fried them in about 1/2 inch of oil.  The added benefit of that is it only takes about 30 seconds on each side to get them crispy and golden brown.  These are definitely going into the "make these again and soon" pile!  

Of course, once again, I forgot to take pictures before we started gobbling them up, so I'm using the pin photo.  However, mine looked nothing like these because she used spring roll wrappers instead of egg roll.  Egg rolls are much longer and they crisp up beautifully.  But I wanted you to be able to see the lovely avocado sauce as well.  It was surprisingly easy to make.  I laughed at the measurements.  3/8 cup?  Why not just up it 1/2?  Can it make that much of a difference? But, since I had not done it before, I followed the recipe exactly.  I made my own buttermilk using heavy cream so I wouldn't have to buy something else for only 3 tablespoons of an ingredient I never use. But all the other ingredients for both the sauce and the filling were things I have in my house all the time.  If you like Tex-Mex style cooking, these are for you! 

Copied directly from Cake & Aliie

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch (makes 48 mini rolls, or 24 regular rolls)
Ingredients:

For the egg rolls:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-9 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry with paper towel
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1-7oz can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package of egg roll or wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 425F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together corn, beans, spinach, cheese, chiles, onions, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Using a small spoon, scoop a small amount of filling onto the wrapper. Starting at a corner, carefully start to roll the wrapper. When it’s slightly rolled, tuck in the two side and continue rolling to the last point. Wet your finger with water and dab a bit on the corner to seal the egg roll. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, placing them slightly apart on the baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes, flipping them at least once during baking.

For avocado ranch:
3/8 cup mayonnaise
3/8 cup sour cream
3 Tbs buttermilk
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, peeled and pitted

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use immediately.