Rolls of a Pizza Type- A Fryday Night Adventure
This was what the Food It Yourself Garden looked like last night.
You can’t tell from the picture, but every possible form of water was coming out of the sky when I took this.
We are in the midst of a two day Winter Weather Event; specifically the type of event that used to be called an ice storm. Yes, it is officially springtime on the calendar. That’s New England, though. The damp chill put Mr. Food It Yourself and me in the mood for some high-calorie eats. After a short discussion we decided on pizza rolls. Did you know there is a difference between nutritional splurges and junk food? It is true. I could have strolled through the freezer section of my local grocery store and picked up a bag of pizza rolls made out of the following:
This is the ingredient list from a national brand of frozen pizza rolls. Imitation mozzarella cheese? Are you not worthy of the real thing? “Pepperoni pizza topping”? But, is it not in the middle of the roll? So very confusing. Food should not be confusing. It should be tasty.
I could have bought the frozen junk food, but you all know I would not have because that is not how we DIYeters roll, pizza or otherwise. What I did pick up were some egg roll wrappers:
Found these in the produce section near the tofu products. You can also check the Asian food aisle.
Some high quality pepperoni:
This is where I spent my money. Since we have to limit our intake of processed meats I went for quality over quantity. I found this in the bakery section next to the store’s house made pizza dough. You can also check near the deli or where they keep sausages, bacon, hot dogs, etc.
And some store brand, on sale, low-fat string cheese:
You could also just shred or slice some mozzarella, but these were cheaper per ounce because of the sale. And the extras will be good for snacking on this week.
I also picked up a jar of store brand, weekly special, tomato sauce for dipping:
No, I did not use home made tomato sauce. I was feeling lazy.
Here is how it all went together.
A few bits of mozzarella, some and some julienne pepperoni in the middle of a wrapper. Dampen the edges and gently roll. Remember not to over-fill your wrapper!
Mr. Food It Yourself and I like pepperoni pizzas, but we also like veggies. As usual, keeping a DIYet let us customize our food.
I sauteed some fresh bell pepper and onion for veggie pizza rolls.
My all time favorite pizza toppings- sauteed spinach and garlic with anchovy. Yes, I said anchovy. You will not find this combination in the frozen “food” section.
After the rolls were rolled, Mr. Food It Yourself heated up The Big Skillet (yes, the one I used for his birthday cake two weeks ago) with some grape seed oil. You can find instructions on line for baking crispy egg rolls, but this night was about decadence and ingesting calories for warmth. Turn up the volume when you watch this:
Once the rolls are crispy and hot drain them on some brown paper.
Fried to a crisp and dunked in gently warmed tomato sauce, these hit the spot! Not even close to what most would call “health food”, but not junk food. These pizza rolls are just food, the kind one eats every now and then but not every day.
The pepperoni rolls were amazing. Spending a little more money on the expensive cured meat was the right choice. The pepper and onion version was also well received. If I make these again I might add some mushroom as well. Mr. Food It Yourself tried a spinach and anchovy roll; he did not like the spinach.
The super cool thing about having egg roll wrapper skills? You can stuff them with anything. Here are some other ideas-
Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin are a culinary super family who write The Woks of Life blog. They posted this take-out copycat recipe a few years back.
How about taco egg rolls? Janelle at Num’s the Word has a recipe for that.
Not up for frying, but want some Philly cheesesteak egg rolls? Ashley at Wishes and Dishes has you covered with a baked version.
Seriously, pick a search engine, type in the name of a food followed by “egg roll recipe” and there is a good chance you will find what you are looking for. Even better, you can try to work out your dream recipes yourself. Give it a try! Also, please share your ideas in the comments section. I still have some wrappers in the fridge…
Every DIYet, every diet for that matter, needs a little wiggle room. Mr. Food It Yourself and I eat our share of vegetable-packed soups, calorie conscious casseroles, whole grains, lean proteins, and delicately steamed veggies. Sometimes we eat fried things with cheese. Remember that enjoying a treat does not require you to turn to pre-packed frozen food products.
