Baked Egg Rolls

Rating: 4 out of 5

I got the idea to make baked egg rolls as a lunch option from Once a Month Mom, but the filling mixture and directions were altered significantly. Here is what I did...

Ingredients
Meat Mixture
2 pounds ground pork
1 head of Napa cabbage
2 carrots - shredded
Minced garlic
3-4 green onions

Sauce
4-5 tbsp. of soy sauce
2-3 tbsp. of fish sauce
2 tbsp. honey
Minced garlic
Salt and Pepper

Egg roll wrappers (or in our case wonton wrappers)
Bowl of water for sealing the wrappers

Directions
Cook the ground pork fully. Add in the remaining meat mixture ingredients and cook for a few minutes. Wait for the cabbage to fully wilt into the mixture. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In the meantime, whisk together the sauce ingredients and get your bowl of water ready. Also, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Add the sauce to the meat and stir completely.

Follow the directions on the egg roll wrappers to fill and seal each.

To bake, put on a cookie sheet and spray the top of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes and then flip. Bake for another 10 minutes. For the wontons, I baked for 9 minutes and then flipped for another 7 minutes.

Freezer: We are experimenting with the freezer instructions on this one. I froze a little over a dozen baked egg rolls and will test microwaving them until thawed and warmed. If that doesn't work, I have about a pound of the mixture in the freezer as well, so I can thaw the filling and fold into the wrappers before baking.

Soft Pretzels

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Okay, I know that picture looks weird and nothing like a pretzel, but I promise you the taste is sooo yummy. We made a double batch of these--half salted and half cinnamon sugar (my favorite). We got eight of each kind but only 4 cinnamon sugar ones made it to the freezer. I blame Brian. The recipe is from Annie's Eats.

Ingredients

For the dough:
1½ cups warm water (110-115° F)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
22 oz. all-purpose flour (about 4½ cups)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl

For finishing:
Cooking spray
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Pretzel (or kosher) salt or a cinnamon/sugar mixture

Directions:

To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast. Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot.

In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope. Make a U-shape with the rope and holding the ends of the rope…cross them over each other and onto the bottom of the U-shape in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet. Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer: To freeze, bake as directed and cool completely. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and then put in a freezer bag. To serve, microwave on medium heat for a few seconds until warm.