This post started as an argument. I have 2 friends from college who are involved. One who invented this recipe. And one who thinks they invented the recipe. Lots of beer, studying, and college nonsense may have clouded the memory of the second party. Or this could be just a ploy to get the recipe out of me. Anyway what follows is how this recipe really came about…how the second person believes this recipe was invented…and finally the original recipe followed by an updated version. Let’s go.

Carla Guthrie was my first roommate in college. We did everything together. People always recognized as a duo because I was tall with dark hair and she is not so tall with long blonde curly hair.  When Carla finally moved into an apartment, she would invite her friends over for dinner. No college student turns down a homemade meal. The favorite thing she would make were these egg rolls with a twist. Today she calls them redneck egg rolls, and that they are. They bear no resemblance to any egg roll you might find in a Chinese restaurant, and that is why they are amazing. She would make them for us often…to get through finals, to celebrate, after a night out drinking…I mean studying. I am absolutely certain we all learned to make these egg rolls from Carla.

These days Carla is this super mom with a beautiful little girl. She was this extremely smart science brain in college, and now is one of those modern women who can do it all. Which, by the way, comes as no surprise to any of her college friends. When I told her recently that I was gonna use her recipe for the blog she said “oh the redneck egg rolls?” Because no one who eats the redneck egg rolls ever wants a real egg roll again.

Which brings me to my “delusional” friend Jesse Ward, who also knew myself and Carla in college. Jesse believes he invented the redneck egg roll. Jesse is now an orthopedic surgeon but I refuse to let that give his claim any credibility. I believe Jesse’s confusion may stem from the fact that the first time he had the redneck egg roll, he had been at George’s for hours.

George’s, to fill you in, is a drinking establishment in Waco, Texas. Their beers are served in ice-cold goblets called Big O’s. They also serve a mean chicken fried steak, and have George Jones on the jukebox. Or at least they did when the confusion takes place. George’s is also a place where stories and legends are born. My favorite George’s story has to do with the waitresses that ran the place. They were the crusty barfly variety who would tell you in no uncertain terms how hell froze over. One time we had a booth full of friends. One of the guys in the booth ordered a Bud Light. Without skipping a beat the waitress turned to him and said “HONEY now that is a p***y beer. Why don’t you order like a man should?”

SO you can see where the confusion might start on the origin of the redneck egg rolls. Too many stories, too much George Jones, and too many Big O’s and one might easily think they created the redneck egg roll. Anyway, here’s the recipe. The redneck egg roll is great for parties, watching football, and just for getting over that ‘ I NEED SOMETHING DEEP FRIED NOW’ feeling. They are completely unhealthy, and yet so good that it is understandable why Jesse Ward might want to claim he invented them. But he didn’t. He did sucker me out of the recipe though.

(NOTE: after the original recipe is the recipe updated to use green chiles. A sort of Homage to my adopted state of New Mexico. Enjoy.)

Redneck Egg Rolls Original Recipe

Ingredients:

– 1 lb lean ground beef

– 1 pkg egg roll wrappers

– 1 pkg soba noodles

– can water chestnuts

– 1/4 cup shredded carrots and cabbage

– soy sauce

– 1 tbsp flour

– vegetable oil for frying

– sweet and sour dipping sauce

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef in skillet. After cooked, drain oil.

2. Add carrots, cabbage, water chestnuts and soba noodles to skillet and cook on low adding soy sauce to your taste

3. Mix tbsp of flour with water to create a watery paste. This will be used to seal the egg rolls.

4. Take 1 egg roll wrapper and place a rounded tablespoon of meat/noodle/vegetable mixture in the middle of the wrapper.

5. Fold two opposite corners of the wrapper to the middle of mixture as pictured below:

6. Now bring one of the remaining corners to the middle as shown below:

7. Now starting at the bottom folded edge, roll the egg roll upward toward the top pointed edge. Once it is rolled, seal the last pointed corner with the flour/water paste mixture.

8. Heat oil on medium low and fry egg rolls until golden brown.

9. Enjoy with sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Redneck Egg Rolls Redux Southwestern Style with Ranch Avocado Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

– 2 c. shredded chicken

– 2 cups frozen corn, thawed

– 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

– 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

– 4 oz can diced green chiles, drained

–  2 green onions, finely chopped

– 1 tsp ground cumin

–  1/2 tsp chili powder

– 1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1 package of egg roll wrappers

Directions:

– Put all ingredients in large skillet and heat on med low until onions are cooked. Stir frequently.

– Put rounded tablespoon of above mixture in the middle of egg roll wrapper and roll as above.

– Fry rolls in heated vegetable oil.

– Enjoy with the below dipping sauce.

Ranch Avocado Dipping Sauce

-1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

-1/2 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed

-1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

-1 teaspoon grated lime peel

Mix all of the above together.