Cheesy Ham & Spinach Egg Rolls

Some the “The Girls” were having a movie night on Friday. We were watching The King’s Speech. I love that movie!

I got a message that I needed to bring snack and wanted to bring something really yummy. But, as is normal around my house, it got to be just an hour left until I had to go and I started scrounging… Hmmmm… what can I make?? And of course, I found nothing!

So I dug through my freezer and spotted the Egg Roll Wrappers I’d found with a 50% off sticker a while ago. So I took them out and threw them in the microwave while I hunted for decadent ingredients… Let’s see, spinach, cream cheese, deli ham I bought for sandwiches… that sounds like it should blend well.

So I began my experiment. It turned out amazingly well!

And everyone wanted the recipe, which was deep in the recesses of my grey matter.

So I made it again the next day and this time I measured it all. They turned out great, probably because the ingredients are simple and taste great together. When I made them the second time I over-filled a few and they “leaked” into the oil. But they were still amazing. Ask my kids! They hardly had time to cool!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Cheesy Ham & Spinach Egg Rolls

3 very, very tightly packed cups of fresh, chopped spinach
1 pound (450 g) sliced deli ham
500 g (2 8oz packages) cream cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
1 package (18) egg roll wrappers
Oil for frying
Glass of warm water

Chop the spinach by slicing through a handful of leaves with a sharp knife.

Pack a measuring up until it is so full it nearly pops out no matter how hard you press down. Once the spinach is all chopped, put it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 minutes on high. (Do not add water.)

While the spinach is cooking prepare the other ingredients. Stack the ham slices, then slice them thinly in one direction, turn the ham and slice thinly again in the other direction.

Separate the ham as you put them into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the ham and stir.

Add the cream cheese to the ham & garlic powder.

Mix the ham into the cream cheese until it is uniform.

When the spinach is done in the microwave, mix it up with a fork. It will seem like you have ‘lost’ most of the spinach as it will have wilted to such a small amount.

Add the spinach to the cheese & ham mixture and stir well.

Once the mixture is fully blended lay out the egg rolls, 6 at a time in front of you like a diamond.

Put 2 tablespoons of mixture on the egg roll wrapper in a line from point to point as shown above.

Carefully, without pressing onto the filling, fold the bottom point up over the filling.

Fold both side points over the folded dough and filling.

Roll the wrapped filling toward the point on top. The point will fold down over the filling. Dip your finger into the warm water and rub it over the final point until it begins to seal.

When you are done it will be a neat and tidy package like this. Set it aside and repeat this process with the rest of the wrappers and filling.

Heat oil on high in a frying pan. I use a deep electric skillet. Gently lay the rolls in the hot oil.

After about 2 minutes check the bottom side of the first ones you put in. If they are golden use tongs to gently turn them.

When they are done they will be golden brown. Carefully remove them from the oil and rest the on a cookie sheet or heat resistant platter covered with paper towel. You can see I had 3 that were too full, or I poked them accidentally when I turned them, and they “leaked”.

But over all, they turned out beautifully!!

And they were extremely delicious!! 🙂

How about you?

What other fillings do you think would make a nice appetizer? Let us know!

A Carla Anne Feature Recipe