Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls Copy Cat Recipe

So, Chili's is not one of my favorite restaurants, but they gave me one of my favorite appetizers of all times, their southwestern egg rolls!  DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!  The last few times we have ordered them though, they haven't been the same, so I don't know if they changed their recipe or something... But, now I can make my own!!!

This recipe is SOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!!

You can find the recipe HERE. But, I changed it a little, of course...

This is totally a dish you can prepare ahead of time, which I love!!! Especially if you want to use them as an appetizer for a party!

Chili's Southwestern Egg rolls Copy Cat Recipe:

1 lb. cooked chicken breast shredded or diced (really, you could use chicken you've already cooked for another meal, or buy a rotisserie chicken and shred some of that to cut back on your prep time.)

1 T. olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper minced (about 10 T.)

6 minced green onions (about 10 T.)

1 can of corn

10 T. frozen spinach

4 T. canned jalapeno peppers, diced (if you like really spicy double this)

2 T. minced fresh cilantro

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (Or you could use some pepper jack cheese too)

30 small flour tortillas (or for dinner sized burritos 15 large burrito size)

Avocado-ranch dipping sauce:

1 avocado (1/2 c. mashed)

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

2 T. buttermilk

3 tsp. white vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fresh cilantro minced

1/4 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. lime juice

dash garlic powder

dash pepper

(That was the original recipe for the sauce, but I thought it needed something else, so I added about a 1/2 tsp. of lime juice. Next time, I will add some cilantro too. The sauce is better after it sits for a while, so make sure you prepare it well ahead of the time you plan to serve it.)

Garnish:

Diced tomato

Diced green onions

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat, add red pepper and onion to the pan and saute for a couple of minutes until tender.

2. Add the spinach, jalapenos, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to the pan. Cook for a few minutes more. Stir well so that the spinach separates and is incorporated into the mixture.

4. Add the black beans, corn, and cooked chicken. Cook for another few minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cheese.

6. Wrap the tortillas in a moist paper towel and microwave about a minute or until hot. (if you don't do this your tortillias will tear)

7. Spoon a couple of spoonfuls on the tortilla. (I put the mixture toward one end of the tortilla instead of the middle to make sure it would wrap up nicely.)

Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla over the mixture. Roll the tortilla very tight, then pierce with a toothpick to hold together. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Arrange the wraps on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours. Or overnight.   (I made my wraps in the morning and froze them, and then made them for dinner that night, and it worked fine. Another reason I would quadruple this recipe, is that I could make a large batch and keep frozen what I don't want to use and have another dinner already made for me that I just have to fry.)

8. While the wraps freeze, combine all ingredients for dipping sauce in small bowl. (I used my small food processor.)

9. Depending on the size pot you use to fry the egg rolls; pour enough oil in your pot to cover the wraps. Heat your oil over medium to high heat.

10. When your oil is hot, deep fry egg rol until golden brown. (The recipe says 12-15 minutes, but mine did not take that long.) When egg rolls are done allow to drain for a few minutes on paper towels.

11. Slice diagonally, and serve with dipping sauce. If desired, garnish the dipping sauce with tomatoes and green onions.

12. Lick your plate clean!

(Other options - you can always add more chicken to this OR make it more vegetarian by adding quinoa, lentils, or pinto beans.  You can even add more spinach to the recipe too.  I would actually make the dipping sauce first before starting, that way you can be sure the flavors have time to mesh together.  Next time I make these, I'm going to try and make them without freezing them to see what happens... if you try it, let me know how it turns out!!)