Monday, May 17, 2010

Baked Southwest Egg Rolls

So, sometimes when I try new things they are a bust, like my baked french toast this weekend. It was gross. I hate soggy food and it was soggy and groos. But then, sometimes, I try something new and it is awesome! Today was like the later scenerio. I made these bakes southwest egg rolls and they were so good! I highly suggest them to anyone!


Baked Southwest Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped grilled chicken (leftovers work great!)
2 cups canned corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 t ground cumin
½ t chili powder
1 t salt
½ t pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (about 18 total needed)

Directions:In a large bowl, combine everything except the egg roll wrappers. Mix well. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place a heaping ¼ cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve with avocado!
Happy Eating!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream


YES PLEASE!!!!

After almost a year of wanting to purchase real vanilla beans I decided to take the plunge. I ordered 7 beans from Amazon and actually forgot about them. Mark and I make a daily trip to the mail box together and the day these arrived the whole mail area knew it! They smelled wonderful even in a plastic bag in an envelope in the mail box. The first thing I wanted to make was vanilla bean ice cream. Nothing says yummy like freshly churned, homemade vanilla ice cream. It was divine. I am posting the recipe but I warn you...if you eat half of this recipe in a week you will gain 4 pounds. I did and I am paying for it, big time. Extra elliptical time here I come!

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
1 Vanilla Bean, Split And Scraped
3 cups 1/2 & 1/2
2 cups Sugar
8 Large Egg Yolks
3 cups Heavy Cream

Heat 1/2 & 1/2 and 2 cups sugar in a saucepan over low heat, adding the vanilla bean insides to the mixture. Also, throw in the bean for extra flavor. (Remove before next step.) Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick. Temper the egg yolks into the pan containing the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat until quite thick, stirring constantly. The mixture should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Drain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into a bowl with the heavy cream. Stir to combine.

Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until desired consistency. Place container in freezer to harden for at least eight hours.