stepping into my roll

Summer is coming to an end, and with the beginning of school comes all the roles I have to fit into again. Student, club leader, college applicant (yikes!), and of course blogger! Before summer ended though, I had a potluck dinner with some of my friends and my role was to bring a side dish. So I decided to bring southwestern spring rolls; something different and new to try, plus loaded with veggies!

I've learned through each potluck I cook for that if we all make super filling dishes, none of us end up feeling good at the end of the night. That's why I thought these spring rolls would be good. All of my friends have learned not to make super heavy dishes (and to make healthy ones!), and that way we all can enjoy everything without feeling guilty for it afterwards.

Another successful potluck!

These spring rolls are packed with vegetables and spices, and although I wouldn't make these often (it's tedious to roll them one by one), I found it interesting to learn how to. I also wouldn't make them often because I don't like to used pre-packaged wrappers - they were a little higher in salt than I would like but I didn't have the time to make my own wrappers from scratch.

*I'm not sure if all spring roll wrappers follow the same instructions, but I just followed what the back of the package directed me to do

Here's what you need:
yields 12 spring rolls
1 cup canned corn
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dried
3/4 cup cheese blend (I used Monterey Jack)
2 ounces (1/2 can) chopped green chilies, drained
2 green onions
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package spring roll wrappers 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except the wrappers).

I microwaved my spinach for 20 seconds to thaw it out 

2. Fill a tin with warm water and submerge the wrapper  for 15 seconds. Once it's sticky, dry it in a towel and fill it with a spoonful of the vegetable mixture. Fold sides toward the center over filling and roll tightly to seal.

Look really closely and you can see the wrapper on the towel

I used the knife to cut off some of the extra wrapper, I think it was too big 

3. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Make sure not to remove from baking sheet until they've cooled a little bit (the thin wrappers will open up!)

4. Enjoy!!