I've made egg rolls before but, always baked them and wanted to try frying them!  I love the combinations of flavors that you can use for filling.  In this recipe - you can substitute the pork with any ground meat mixture you prefer.  I suggest making this recipe first to get the idea of the whole process before changing things up later on.  These egg rolls were super tasty and a welcome addition to our freezer! Yep, you can bake these now and then vacuum seal and freeze in portions for enjoying later! 
Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Diane 

Homemade Egg Rolls

1 package (18 ounces) Twin Dragon Egg Roll Wrappers from the refrigerated section 
*usually found near the fresh produce. 

Filling: 
1 (16 ounce)tube jimmy dean pork sausage - crumbled, cooked well and drained on paper towels.
1 large carrot, sliced thin
1 small onion, finely diced 
1 bag (14 ounce bag) shredded coleslaw mix

Sauce for Filling:
(Mix together and set aside)  
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sherry
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon corn starch

Directions: 

1. Cook your ground pork in a sauté pan and place cooked pork on paper towels to drain off grease as you prepare the vegetable mixture. 
2. Place cut carrot and onion in a large Dutch oven with a minimal amount of oil or butter to sauté vegetables for 5 minutes. 
3. Add in the cabbage mix. 
4. Add in the Sauce. 
5. Let cabbage mixture cook down about 7 minutes and add well-drained meat back into pot with cabbage mixture and warm entire mixture through - place the entire filling mixture in a bowl lined with paper-towels. ((The trick for non-greasy egg rolls; is to get filling really dry and remove as much oil and grease as possible from the filling.))
6. Take an egg roll wrapper out and place it on your work space facing you like a diamond.
7. Using a 1/4 Cup measuring cup place about 1/4 cup of the prepared filling in the lower corner nearest you.
8. Using a pastry brush or your finger, wipe the perimeter of the egg roll wrapper with egg wash.  (This will seal the egg rolls so they don't open while cooking.)
9. Fold the bottom corner up over filling and then fold the sides in, like an envelope. Then roll from bottom upwards, making sure its as tight as you can get it until all the way rolled.
10. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet covered with saran until they are all rolled and ready for frying. 
11. Fill your fryer or Dutch oven with Canola Oil.  You want the oil heated to 350 degrees.  Always use caution when frying! Remember that water droplets will cause the oil to sizzle and can splatter!  I use only the amount of oil that will just cover the tops of the eggrolls and I use tongs to turn them in the oil if need be. 
12. Cook only a few egg rolls at a time or your cooking oil temperature will lower too greatly - my fryer cooks 3 egg rolls at a time.  I fried mine for 4 minutes before moving to the oven. 
13. Preheat your oven to 425F.  *This is an added step to ensure crispiness and doneness of your egg rolls.  Once You've fried your eggrolls - place them on a rack set above a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 3-5 minutes.  
14. Remove egg rolls from oven and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.  This will help remove any more oil off of the rolls before eating. 

​Makes Approx. 12-16 eggrolls. 
  
Kitchen Notes:
  

• The Filling can be made and refrigerated a day ahead, which helps remove even more grease.  
• Using an egg-wash to seal the egg roll wrapper edges will help prevent filling from spilling while frying. 
• I used refrigerated Egg Roll Wrappers which were great! Just remember to keep them from drying out.  I opened the package but kept a moist paper towel draped over the package while assembling my egg rolls.  
• Serve the eggrolls with; Sweet Chili Thai sauce, Sweet & Sour sauce or Chinese Spicy Mustard. 

Recipe Credit:  I'd like to thank Lynn over at Southern With a Twist for sharing her egg roll recipe!  I used the sauce from her recipe *adding in some toasted sesame oil. She has a few tasty looking egg roll recipes - make sure to stop by and check out her site as well!!   

   Super easy cookie recipe - and as a bonus uses your homemade jam if preferred.  I used my peach jam and cherry jam for this batch of thumbprints. Enjoy! Diane 

Ingredients: 

2 Cups all purpose flour *I prefer King Arthur
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup butter, room temperature
1/4 Cup white granulated sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract *I prefer Rodelle
1 Cup prepared jam 


Directions:  

Preheat oven to 350F. 
   Cream the butter and sugars together on high in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes.)  Lower mixer speed and beat in all the remaining ingredients leaving the flour to add in last until well mixed.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and roll dough into small 1.5" balls, placing about 2" apart on baking sheet.  Using your thumb, depress each ball so that it makes a small "well" for the jam to set in.  Fill each indentation with the jam of your choice.  Bake cookies 13-15 minutes or until bottom edges are slightly browned.  Let cool on baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before carefully removing to cooling racks.  Cookies can be stored up to one week in an air tight container. 

     Sometimes the Holidays mean you are rushed for time.  Try my decadent Vanilla Bundt cake that is dressed up with homemade dulce de leche and chopped pecans.  The "easy button" is used by utilizing a boxed cake mix and instant pudding but that does not detract from the final cake. Enjoy! Diane 

Ingredients: 

1. 2 3/4 cups cake flour 
2. 2 1/2 cups sugar 
3. 1/2 cup powdered buttermilk 
4. 1 tsp baking powder 
5. 1/2 tsp baking soda
6. 1 small box INSTANT Vanilla Pudding Mix (3.4 ounces)
   
7. 1 Tablespoon Rodelle Vanilla Bean Paste 
8. 1/2 cup Sour Cream
9. 1/2 cup Canola Oil
   
10. 3/4 cup Water
    
11. 1/2 cup Sugar
    
12. 4 Eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped Pecans 
1/2 pint of Dulce de Leche caramel sauce 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bundt Cake:
In a large bowl of a stand mixer, mix all ingredients together for 3 minutes on high. Pour into a greased bundt pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15-30 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack until completely cooled before topping with dulce de leche and chopped pecans.  

Recipe Note: want to hit the "easy button" on this recipe - replace the first 5 cake ingredients with a box of white cake mix! 

     This is one of the handiest sauces to have on hand for the Holiday season and baking.  It's easy to make and can always be frozen for future use.  This is used easily as a fruit dipper, cake filling, cake glaze, stirred into coffee and always great with ginger and chocolates.  This sauce does need refrigerated and used within 2 weeks or frozen.  Enjoy! Diane 

Dulce De Leche (caramel sauce) 

Ingredients: 
3 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 teaspoon Rodelle Vanilla Bean Paste 
1 Pinch of Salt, optional 
4 (half pint) canning jars with screw bands and lids 

Directions: 
     Open the condensed milk and pour evenly into the 4 half pint canning jars. You will be leaving about a 1 inch of headspace.  Place canning lids and bands on to finger-tip tightness.  Set the filled canning jars in a slow-cooker large enough to cover with at least 1/2" of water over the top of canning jars.  Set cooker to Low and let cook 8-12 hours.  You want the white condensed milk to turn a caramel brown.  Once the jars are light brown; turn cooker off and carefully remove the jars. Let jars cool at least 4 hours before placing into refrigerator.  
  

     I designed this recipe because I had a large bag of spinach that needed to be used up.  I wanted a total "comfort food dish" and spinach paired with my favorite 5 cheese tortellini (we prefer Rana) this dish was a huge hit!!  You can add more spice to this dish by using jalapenos in place of poblanos and green chiles but, we like a mild heat.  You can even use pepper-jack cheese in place of the cheddar... Enjoy! Diane 

Ingredients:
1 (20 ounce) bag of cheese tortellini, refrigerated not frozen
1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach, cleaned and destemmed 
1 onion, chopped  
1 poblano chile, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can roasted green chiles 
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream   
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded 

Directions:

• Brown/Sauté onion and poblano in large pot with a bit of olive oil added (I use my 7 quart dutch oven), over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  
• Add in the green chiles and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, tomatoes, half the cream, salt, and pepper and bring to boil.
• ​Add in the tortellini, boil for 4 minutes (or according to package.)
• Add in remaining cream and spinach, cover pan and reduce heat to a low simmer, stirring frequently, until tortellini is tender and sauce if to your liking. 
• You want the broth to be cooked down enough that it starts creating a creamy 'sauce'.  If it is too thin, let entire dish cook another 5 minutes,  I like the sauce a bit runny as it will thicken a bit as it cools. 
• Once the sauce is to your liking, fold in your cheese, heat through and Serve Hot. 

Serves 4.