Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Happy snow day!

I am thoroughly enjoying this day off.  It was needed.  Very needed.

I took this opportunity as my first one to make some food since I grocery shopped Sunday night (Monday was our wedding tasting and last night we went to the Bruins game!). I made lunch and dinner, and these little guys debuted as lunch.  Now, those of you who love my creamy chicken taquitos - and there are many of you - listen up, because these baked southwestern egg rolls are rather similar but just as awesome.  Chicken, cheese, black beans, onions and corn - even some baby spinach - all spiced up with cumin and chili powder and baked inside soft tortillas that turn crispy in the oven... what's not to like? I mean, besides the chicken ;) In fact, it makes me want to start including corn in my regular taquitos. God I love corn.

My mom spotted them on my "Meat: Yuck" Pinterest board and begged for them, particularly after we went to Chili's for dinner last weekend and ordered southwestern egg rolls, which she loved.  I had planned on making them without the chicken, until Mom came grocery shopping with me and insisted on picking up a rotisserie chicken.  I forced Nick to cut it up for me today if he wanted it in the egg rolls, so that part was done (the recipe calls for raw chicken, so I just tossed mine into the mix when I added the beans). Basically everything gets tossed together and sautéed, then rolled up into tortillas and baked.  They come together pretty quickly, and bake for just under a half hour. The recipe says to brush them with olive oil, but I found a quick spray with oil was plenty.

When they are done, you have these perfectly portable, incredibly flavorful, "egg rolls" (they're more like taquitos than anything from a Chinese restaurant!).  I made a double batch and there are plenty left for dinner tonight and for lunch for the rest of the week. The recipe recommends serving them with cilantro cream sauce, which I neglected to do for lack of cilantro, but I served mine with sour cream and that was quite fine.  Taquito lovers, rejoice!

Check out my new giant pan - only $10 because of a tiny dent!

Recipe:

baked southwestern egg rolls
from Mrs. Happy Homemaker
makes 10 egg rolls

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
1 medium-large onion, minced
1 cup frozen corn
1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese (I used cheddar jack)
salt and pepper to taste
10 taco-sized flour tortillas

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium. Add in the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the diced onions and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the spices, black beans, corn, and baby spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese.

3) Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into the center of each taco-sized flour tortilla, roll up like a burrito. Brush each side with a good coating of olive oil (or spray with cooking spray), and place into a baking dish. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, flipping halfway through until crispy.