Easy Game Day Appetizer: Chili and Cheese Egg Rolls

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”600px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” rounded_corners=”false” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ][/dropshadowbox]

I love appetizers that can be made ahead and quickly prepared. When it’s addictive and your family clamors for you to make more, you know you have a winner.  That’s how I feel about these cheesy spring rolls.

Now that the hubs is home for good and no longer working overseas, we watch a lot more football than we have in years.

For the past few years, I’ve had an odd Superbowl tradition. I wait until the game is on and then I go to the grocery store. It’s empty and a perfect time to leisurely shop for groceries.

I guess I won’t be doing that this year. We’ll be back to our old tradition of a fingerfood feast while my husband watches the game and I pretend to watch.

In preparation for the game, I tried a new variation of an old family favorite. It’s my Dad’s signature cheese lumpia (aka Filipino fried spring rolls.) He likes velveeta and cheese wiz. A lot. I like chili. Seemed like a perfect match.

These spring rolls are my son’s favorite.

Let me start by saying that my motto when it comes to special occasions is “moderation is key.” I don’t always eat clean which is why I sport this very sexy muffin top. However, for this trial run I did try an alternative cooking method. I used my big boss convection “air fryer.” (That was an affiliate link.) There really is no making this appetizer “healthy,” though. I just don’t like to deep fry much.

With the help of Progresso Chili, the preparation for this appetizer couldn’t be any easier.

Easy Cheesy Spring Rolls with Chili Dip

Ingredients:

Progresso Smoke House Chili

Frozen Spring Roll Shells (found at Asian stores)

Block of Velveeta

Shredded Cheese (optional garnish)

Directions:

Allow Spring Roll Shells to thaw for about 5 minutes at room temperature. This makes them easier to work with and pliable.

Take your block of velveeta and cut it into thirds.

Then slice it into 1/2 inch slices. Slice those squares into 4ths. It’s easier to show you with the picture below than to explain it!

Then you will roll the little cheese sticks into spring rolls. I like to place my shell diagonally in front of me on a cutting board. Then roll it up. See the pictures below for step by step instructions.

I use a touch of water at the tip of the spring roll shell to hold it together.

Once they are all rolled you can either freeze them to fry or bake later or you can fry them up right away.

To fry them: heat oil until it’s hot enough to fry french fries. Deep fry the spring rolls for only approximately 20 seconds. If the cheese melts and escapes into the oil, it makes what should be lightly golden egg rolls look like they have the pox.

Which is why I hate to deep fry them.

However, they do taste MUCH better fried than baked.

To bake them: I suggest brushing them with vegetable oil and baking at 350 until lightly brown.

I decided to see how they would taste in my “air fryer.” I brushed them with vegetable oil and air fried them on the french fry setting for 10 minutes, turning them once.

Air fried tasted better than baked (baking them makes the inner layers of the shell chewier rather than crisp) but still didn’t taste as good as frying.

I’ll fry them on Superbowl Sunday because it’s a special occasion. However, I LOVE using this Big Boss for day to day cooking.

Do not–I repeat–do not bite into one just out of the fryer. It will burn your tongue. Trust me.

Instead, open up the Progresso Chili and pop it in the microwave according to the directions.

Once heated, I sprinkled some shredded cheese on it to make it pretty.

It was the perfect dip to go with the spring rolls! Your guests will love this game day appetizer. If you roll them ahead of time and freeze it, then prep time is super quick on the big day.

Make sure you check out Progresso for some more awesome recipes!

Here’s a little bonus for you. If you need a little cash to help you buy your game day supplies, enter to win $10 Paypal Cash. Between now and Friday 1/29 enter to win. This giveaway is open worldwide.
a Rafflecopter giveaway