Southwest Egg Rolls and Guacamole

When I spotted Taste of Home’s recipe for Southwest Egg Rolls, I knew I had to try it out in our outdoor kitchen.  The filling sounds yummy and sneaks in spinach with black beans.  That is a cool idea!  I added bacon (of course), tripled the amount of spinach, added garlic, reduced the amount of cream cheese, and swapped out jalapeños for my favorite Hatch green chile by 505 Southwestern.  I love the smokey flavor of Hatch green chile!!

I’ve never baked an appetizer with won ton wrappers in our camp ovens, so this is a new adventure.  This recipe makes 10 to 12 crunchy rolls.  I’ve added my recipe for creamy guacamole below, a perfect match for these appetizers.

Ingredients for the rolls:

• 5 strips of thick, center cut bacon
• 3-4 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped roughly
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Hatch green chiles, roasted, chopped, and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle, dried and ground
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 10-12 wonton wrappers

Fire up a chimney of charcoal.  If you have one of Dennis’ cook stations, pull it out.  It will make the frying go faster.  If not, make a pile of hot charcoal and place a 10-inch camp Dutch oven over the heat.  Fry the bacon until it is crisp.  Remove and let the bacon rest on a paper towel.  Chop up the bacon when it has cooled off.

Pour off bacon fat until the bottom of the oven has enough yumminess to cover it with a thin layer.  Add onions, and sauté  for a minute or two, then add garlic and sauté for another minute.  Inhale deeply and enjoy the aroma of savory wonder!Add red bell pepper and green chiles and sauté for another few minutes until red peppers are tender and no juice is in the bottom of the oven.  Add corn, black beans, salt, pepper, and chipotle and stir until spices are distributed evenly.  Remove from heat.

Add chopped bacon, cream cheese and cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese has melted and is evenly distributed throughout the vegetables.  Put the oven over the charcoal briefly if the cheese isn’t melting but stir constantly to avoid burning the cheese.Taste the filling and add more green chile, salt, pepper as needed.  **sigh**

Pull the 10-inch Dutch oven off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes while you fire up a big chimney of charcoal.  BIG!  You will need more than 50 charcoals to heat the oven over 425 degrees Farhenheit so dump the bag in and get the charcoals going.

Let me stop here to say, this filling is great on its own.  The combinations and options are unlimited.  A simple easy option is to pour it into a bowl along side a pile of chips.  Everyone you know and love will dig in and it will disappear before your eyes. I can only imagine my daughter making this for my sweet granddaughters (sans green chili or maybe just a little) on top of crackers.  Add a cup of chopped grilled chicken, shrimp, beef… You are a foodie.  You get it.  You can adapt this filling for your favorite dip or casserole or appetizer.  I promise you will love it!

OK, back on task.

Fill a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in to moisten the edges of the dough.  Follow the instructions to make an egg roll.

I used about 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling in the center of the wrap and followed the directions to make a roll.  

Place rolls on a cookie sheet.  Spray with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Preheat a big camp Dutch oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is a very important step so don’t skip it.  Make a ring of at least 18 hot charcoals to fit underneath a 16-inch camp Dutch oven.  Place the oven over the charcoal then add the lid and cover the lid with at least 28 or more hot coals.  This oven must be HOT!  If you don’t have a big 16-inch oven, you can bake these in smaller batches in a smaller oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Quickly place the prepared rolls into the preheated 16-inch camp Dutch oven and quickly place the lid on top.  Do anything you can to keep the big oven hot!  Wrap it with wind shield.  Add extra charcoals to the lid liberaly.  Avoid removing the lid until you can smell the wrap baking.  Keeping this oven hot is essential.  In a perfect situation where there is no wind and the outdoor temperature is a delightful 72 degrees, the rolls should start turning golden brown in about 8 to 10 minutes.  However, the chances for possibility of perfect weather is slim to none, so be prepared to add more hot charcoals while carefully monitoring the baking process without letting all the heat out when checking.  This is not an easy task at all. Temperature control is the key skill for outdoor cooking and is essential for outdoor baking.  Making the filling is easy.  Baking the rolls is not.  But the results will be worth it, I promise!  Remove the rolls from the oven when they are golden brown.

A great way to serve these spicy crunchy cheesy snacks is with home made guacamole.  Here’s my favorite way to prepare it.

Dice up two soft and ripe avocados.  Add one cup of Hatch green chile (more or less depending on how much heat you like).  I love, love, love 505 Southwestern’s roasted green chile.  It is consistently delicious and so easy and convenient.  Add 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground dried chipotle, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Blend everything together with a fork until the guacamole is creamy with marble-size chunks of avocado.

Serve the crunchy rolls with a dollop of guacamole and enjoy!  

Thanks for joining me in my outdoor kitchen!

<3 Leslie