Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

I love the Southwestern egg rolls served at a popular chain restaurant, but I know how horrible they must be nutrition-wise! I was so excited to see this recipe for Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls. I love to take otherwise unhealthy restaurant dishes and turn them into much healthier versions.

I took these to a Trivia Night sponsored by my cousin's company to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. These were a great addition to the treats our table brought, which I'm sure were critical to our team's taking home the 1st place award!

I've never worked with store-bought egg roll wrappers before, but they are so neat! I have so many ideas of fillings for these - both savory and sweet. These are great leftover too.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F.

1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend.

2. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place 1/4 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 (to the sides) 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 or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

3. 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 warm with salsa.

Source: Annie's Eats

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you're looking for some great recipes to make today, I've compiled a list of my favorite Mexican-influenced recipes. Can you tell we like Mexican food around here?! :)

Guacamole Turkey Burgers

Red Chile Chicken and Rice

Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken Mexican Pizzas

Layered Taco Dip

Chicken Tostadas with Cilantro Lime Drizzle

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas

Honey Lime Chicken Fajitas

Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

Baked Quesadillas with Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce and Fresh Pico de Gallo

And the salsas!

Restaurant Style Salsa

Black Bean(less) Salsa

Fresh Homemade Salsa

Mango Salsa

I have a NEW recipe that will post tomorrow morning, so standby :)

Restaurant Style Salsa

I've recently rediscovered the Pioneer Woman. This may sound a little strange, but I went to her blog off and on several years ago. For some reason, it was really confusing to me. This was before my Google Reader days, and all those different forums - photography, cooking, etc. - were just overwhelming, so much to the point that I didn't visit very often. After all the buzz about her cookbook tour this past Fall, I added her to my Google Reader and have been pleasantly surprised. I see why so many people love her blog. I know it will be a great resource for me when I finally take the plunge and get a DSLR camera too!

Recently PW posted this Restaurant Style Salsa. Now, I have two favorite salsa recipes already (here and here), but her pictures looked so good and I figured it couldn't hurt to try another, so I made it for Superbowl. The problem is that I now have 3 favorite salsas! I can't decide among them! The black bean(less) salsa is an entirely different beast in my mind, but PW's is very similar to this one, yet I love them both. Maybe someday I will make them side by side, but I have a feeling I will just keep going back and forth between them :) Plus, each batch makes a LOT of salsa!

PW's salsa is exceptionally fresh tasting, despite not having any fresh tomatoes. It's really delicious. With how quick and simple it is to whip up a batch of fresh salsa, it makes me think twice about buying it from the store (Unless Rick Bayless's Frontera salsa is on sale of course!) As of now, I plan to keep making all of these salsas, and often :)

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice

2 10-ounce cans Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies*

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin*

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup cilantro (more to taste)

juice from 1/2 lime

*PW used 1 can regular and 1 can mild Rotel and included the seeds/ribs of the jalapeno. I could only find regular Rotel, so I began by leaving out the ribs and seeds. It wasn't quite spicy enough, so I dumped them in. Then it was pretty spicy, maybe a little too spicy. Use your judgement depending on the heat you prefer!

Directions:

1. Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you the salsa to the consistency you prefer (around 10 to 15 pulses).

2. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip (love this part!) and adjust as needed.

3. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican fare.

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year! I have been dreaming about 2010 for a LONG time. I started graduate school in Chicago in 2004 knowing that I would not be done until close to 2010, at which point I planned to move back to St. Louis where my entire family lives. Meanwhile, Bob decided to go back to school, knowing he would graduate in the spring of 2010. We both feel that our lives have sort of been on hold during this time - waiting to have more time (and space) for our hobbies and interests. So, 2010 is a big year for Bob and I:

His graduation and my hooding ceremony:

A big move to St. Louis:

New jobs: (Bob will be working as a PT and I'll be working with fruit flies!)

House shopping:

And one of my favorite parts is that my cousin Chris, who joined the Navy just as I was starting graduate school, will have completed his service and is moving back to St. Louis too.

I am beyond excited to be near my parents and extended family again!

Since it's the beginning of a brand new year, I'd like to reflect back on 2009. I feel like I have grown so much in my cooking since starting this blog last March - it has really pushed me beyond my comfort zone and forced me to try new things. I have now worked with mock marzipan, royal icing, and yeast breads, just to name a few. I am so thankful to each and every one of you who read my blog and who comment on the recipes I post!

To celebrate the occasion, I've decided to go through the things I made in 2009 and choose my favorites. I realized I couldn't pick just one favorite of each category of food, so I decided to just pick my top recipes and list them here. This is hard because I typically only post something if I really like it, so I usually recommend it all. To be featured in this list, the recipe must meet my standards - most importantly, taste amazing - when I read the title of these recipes my mouth actually starts watering - that's how good they are. As a cooking blogger, it's difficult for me to repeat recipes because there are SO MANY fabulous ones out there to try (I have about a million starred in Google reader to prove it!) To be honest, it's really only the super special recipes that I actually make a second time. These are recipes that I plan to make again and again. Sometimes it's not even my choice - it's that Bob requests them over and over. Funnily enough, a lot of my top recipes are from Giada De Laurentiis! Not on purpose, it's just how it turned out.

In no particular order, this is my list of "must makes" from 2009:

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes - This is a simple recipe from Giada because it uses store bought pancake mix, but it's a semi-homemade approach that tastes incredible. The ricotta cheese really elevates the pancakes to a new level. I am a pancake snob and only like them super light and fluffy, and these pancakes deliver!

Panzanella - I absolutely LOVE this classic tomato and bread salad recipe of Giada's. Perfect for summer when tomatoes are at their peak, but still great the rest of the year.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - I have made many chicken tortilla soups before and never quite found the right one . . . until this one. I love it's simplicity - no corn, no beans, just a super tasty broth with a few veggies, and some chicken of course. The toppings are exceptional. I think each of them adds another flavor dimension. I recently made this for my family and they loved it!

Ribollita - I would have to say this was one of my most surprising recipes (it's Giada's). The whole time making it I was convinced I would hate it - it didn't look appetizing and I really planned on having to eat crackers for dinner. Not only did I eat the soup, I had a second bowl. It was that good. And now here it is on my top recipes lists for 2009. Go figure!

Chicken Gyros - I have made these at least 5 times in the last 5 months! They are SOOO good. The most recent time I made an amazingly delicious flat bread, which I will post soon. It took these from awesome to indescribable :)

Garlic Chicken - Serve with rice, serve with rice noodles, just serve!

Triple T Deluxe Pizza - One of the only recipe on this list that is my own, and it's not even a recipe! The crust is from Cook's Illustrated and truly makes the pizza. The toppings are a great combination, I think. This was the first time I made pizza at home and thought, "hey, this is better than I can get delivered" - no joke.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Pepper, and Onions - Just thinking about this dish makes my mouth water (another Giada recipe). The sweet onions and peppers, the tangy tomato sauce, the comforting pasta, and one of my favorite flavors - marsala wine. This is one of my favorite dishes of all time!

Chicken with Dijon Mascarpone Sauce - Love this recipe! Yet another one from Giada - what can I say, she's knows good Italian food! Get your mascarpone cheese at Trader Joe's if you can - so much cheaper. This recipe is so indulgent. I save it for special occasions and company.

Fresh Salsa - The first time I made this, I was skeptical. How could I like it more than the great salsas you get in Mexican restaurants? I was mistaken - this salsa is right up there with the best of them. It's fantastic served with quesadillas, enchiladas, or tacos, or by itself with tortilla chips. I served this as an appetizer when my cousin and her boyfriend were over one night. He kept saying how good it was, then kept apologizing for repeating himself - it was cute :)

Spinach and Chicken Quesadillas - My favorite quesadilla recipe so far! In my opinion it's the fajita seasoning that makes it special (I credit Annie for that addition!) It was through this recipe that I realized my love of Monterey Jack cheese - it's perfect for Mexican food!

Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream - Wow. Seriously that word sums it up. These were incredible. I still have people at work say to me "you know, you can make those anytime, you don't have to dress them up as Easter Chicks." I take a LOT of desserts into work, and for this one to stand out as much as it did really shows it's a great recipe. I can't wait to make these for my dad because I know he will LOVE them!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart - Not only is this one of my favorite desserts in terms of decoration, but this tart is fantastic. The combination of the sour cream and pumpkin makes a super tasty filling. The gingerbread-tasting crust is spicy and delicious, and it's coated in solid chocolate! I plan to make this again next fall for sure.

Chocolate and Toasted Coconut Covered Homemade Marshmallows - Homemade marshmallows are fabulous on their own, but as soon as I dipped them in chocolate and rolled them in toasted coconut, I had a hit! These are just like candy. My only mistake was not making more of them! Next year, I will be prepared with plenty of chocolate and coconut on hand to make a bunch of these.

Triple Chocolate Biscotti - I'm certainly not a biscotti expert, since these were the first I've ever tasted, but what a great little cookie! I loved the combination of white and bittersweet chocolates. These are great on their own or dipped in your favorite coffee, tea, or even milk.

Chicken Marbella - This is such a famous recipe and probably needs no introduction, but if you've never tried it, you must. Great for a crowd or a small group with yummy leftovers, the flavors in this dish are truly wonderful.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake - Decadent and rich - this dessert is perfect for chocolate lovers like yours truly. I'm not surprised it's the most accessed recipe on Epicurious.com!

Spicy Roasted Chicken - Pam has several great looking chicken recipes - all of which I'd love to try. This one is so delicious. I love the spices and the chicken turned out very juicy.

Chicken Pesto Pizza - I loved this pizza! It's a blend of sweet peppers, zucchini, and chicken, flavored with Italian seasoning. The ingredients magically combine to make one fantastic dish.

Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake - Of all the cheesecakes I've made, this is my favorite. Such a creamy filling covered in ganache - yum!

And just for fun, these are the top posts that have received the most hits according to Google Analytics:

10. Layered Taco Dip

9. Orzo Stuffed Peppers

8. Ricotta Pancakes - Two Ways

7. Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake

6. The Best Salsa in the World

5. Magic Brownies - Two Ways

4. Spaghetti and Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

3. Chicken Marbella

2. Whole Food's Spinach Artichoke Dip

1. Bacon Stuffed Cherry Tomato Appetizers (Thanks for the recipe Kat!!!)

Mango Salsa

A few weeks ago Bob had a week off to study for his big comprehensive exam. During that time, he made regular trips to our favorite produce market, and each time he came home with several mangoes. He couldn't resist the sales! I was reminded of a mango salsa we sampled at Whole Foods over Easter weekend which was really good. Then I saw this recipe, and decided it was time to use up some of those 10 mangoes lined up on the kitchen counter. I like sweet/salty combinations if they are subtle, but don't typically like something very sweet paired with very salty. This salsa was very sweet, which probably means our mangoes were perfectly ripe! I think it was a bit too sweet for my taste, but Bob really liked it. (He has no problem with sweet/salty extremes.) I'm not sure if mangoes are still on super sale anymore, but if you're looking for a way to use them up, this is fun recipe!


Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
2 large ripened mangoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced extra fine

1/2 medium red onion, diced fine

1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced small

juice of 1 lime

pinch of salt

sprinkle of cayenne, if desired for some heat

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

2. Serve with tortilla chips or alongside your favorite meat!

Source: Adapted from Good Things Catered

For Cinco de Mayo Eve: Fresh Homemade Salsa

Happy Cinco de Mayo Eve! I've never really celebrated Cinco de Mayo before (I took French in high school), but Bob and I love Mexican food, so I thought this was a great opportunity to post some of our favorite Mexican recipes!

I've already posted my favorite homemade salsa here, but for Superbowl back in January I decided to try out a new recipe I had seen on Annie's Eats. It just looked so good in her picture. I was skeptical that I would like it, especially since I was making it with winter tomatoes, but the Black Bean Salsa better watch out because this one is now vying for the title of my favorite salsa! It's so fresh tasting, and the flavors work so well together. It tastes like salsa from a really good restaurant. I also love the consistency, and the fact that it's SO easy to make - almost no chopping involved, and it's done in just minutes. If you like salsa, this recipe is a winner!

When I first made the recipe, I followed it exactly except I replaced half the amount of canned diced tomatoes with fire-roasted because I think they are SO good. I was really happy with the resulting flavor. I've made this salsa a total of 3 times, and each time I've tweaked it ever so slightly, and I think I've finally got the perfect balance for our taste. If you're sensitive to spice, scale back on the cayenne. We happen to think the spiciness is just right.

One note about the garlic: The original recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic. The first time, I used 3 very large cloves and one medium-sized thinking you can never have too much garlic! It turns out, you can. It was way too garlicky. The overpowering garlic flavor is not necessarily apparent while you're eating it, but rather later that night . . . and at 3 am . . . and during breakfast the next morning. Each time I've made it, I've scaled back on the garlic and finally ended up thinking 1 clove was about right for us. You can always add more later. Just keep in mind that the garlic flavor seems to intensify over time when the salsa is stored in the fridge.

This salsa is the perfect accompaniment to so many dinners, many of which I will be posting in the next week or so. If you're looking for an excuse to celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, whip up a batch of this salsa - I promise you won't be disappointed!

Fresh Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped

1 large clove garlic, halved (or more to taste)

2 large or 3 small/medium vine-ripened tomatoes, seeds and juice removed

14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained with some juice reserved

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

juice of one lime

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.

2. Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire. Add reserved juice from fire-roasted tomatoes if needed to achieve desired consistency.

3. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

The Best Salsa in the World!

That might be an overstatement, but it's what I call the recipe for Black Bean Salsa that my mom makes. The catch is, I don't include the black beans . . . which my husband finds oddly amusing. He now refers to it as "Black Bean Salsa, black beans optional" because of how it's typed up in the M Family Cookbook his mom made. I have nothing against black beans, but for some reason I like this salsa better without them. The rest of my family disagrees, so if the recipe looks good to you, judge for yourself. I usually make a double batch because this salsa doesn't last long around us!

Bob's all-time favorite snack is chips and salsa. I have to admit, when I first met him I didn't understand the appeal - definitely not my first choice in a snack. But now, after almost 9 years together (!!!), it's become one of my favorites too. Needless to say, we've had quite a few versions of our favorite treat over the years, but this salsa is our favorite hands down!

My college roommate and good friend Kathleen used to be a super picky eater, but after trying this salsa our senior year, she started eating red onions. She now has a very diverse palate. I'm not saying that this salsa works miracles or anything, but . . . :)

Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)

1 can Rotel tomatoes*

1 can white shoepeg corn, drained**

3 Tablespoons lime juice (~1-2 limes)

1 Tablespoon olive oil***

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon (or more to taste) fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tablespoon cumin

dash of garlic salt, or to taste

*Original or Mild, sometimes if I'm making a double batch, I'll use 1 can of each.

**This is important; shoepeg really is different than normal canned corn. I buy mine when I go home to St. Louis because it's hard to find in Chicago! If you can't find it, use a sweet, white, small kernel corn.

***Optional, I almost never include this.

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients and chill, preferably overnight. It takes time for the flavors to blend.

2. Serve with tortilla chips, preferably Tostito's Scoops. This can also be used in place of salsa for any other dish, such as tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, etc.

Note: I think it's important to use fresh limes and cilantro for the most fresh-tasting salsa, although we've made it using jarred lime juice and dried cilantro, and it's still good. I add a LOT more cilantro than the recipe calls for because, in my opinion, you can never have too much cilantro!

Source: Adapted from a recipe given to my mom by a friend