Chipotle Chicken Rolls

Obviously I was too hungry to get a good picture!

We got home from our little getaway to Atlantic City on Saturday afternoon. After relaxing for awhile, I flipped through the Rachael Ray: 365 No Repeats (can you tell this is one of the two cookbooks at Greg's house?!) and found this chicken roll recipe. After Greg's approval of the dish, I went to the store and then began the recipe:

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Chipotle Chicken Rolls

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1 pkg (1 1/3lb) ground chicken breast (I used just 1 lb and it was enough)

6 scallions, thinly sliced, then chopped

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 garlic clove, finely chopped (I used 2 cloves)

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped or 3 tablespoons of a chipotle flavored salsa

salt and fresh ground black pepper

6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

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Dipping Sauce

1 ripe Hass avocado

juice of 3 limes (I only used 1)

handful of fresh cilantro leaves

1 tsp coarse salt

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

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Preheat oven to 400.

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In a bowl, combine ground chicken, scallions, cheddar cheese, garlic, and chipotles and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a sealable plastic bag. To turn the sealable plastic bag into a homemade pastry bag, trim 1 1/2 inches off one of the bottom corners of the plastic bag. Push the chicken mixture to the cut corner without pushing it through the hole. Reserve while you prepare the phyllo.

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Arrange 1 sheet of phyllo dough with the long side closest to you on your kitchen counter, brush liberally from edge to edge with melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Place another sheet of phyllo on top, again brush liberally with butter, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the third layer of phyllo.Place the trimmed end of the pastry bag 1/2 inch in from the left side and 1/2 inch up from the bottom of the phyllo sheet. Squeeze half of the chicken mixture from the bag while moving along in a straight line from left to right. Roll the front edge of the phyllo sheet away from you, encasing the chicken mixture. Continue until you have completed a long roll. Tuck the ends in and then brush the entire outside of the phyllo log with more melted butter. Transfer the first log to a rimmed cookie sheet, putting the seam side down. Repeat this process to make a second log with the remaining chicken mixture.

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Bake 15 minutes or until the log feels firm to the touch.

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While the phyllo-wrapped chicken is in the oven, cut the avocado in half lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Separate the halves and scoop out the pit with a spoon, then use the spoon to scoop the avocado from it's skin. Place the avocado in a food processor and combine with lime juice, cilantro, coarse salt, and about 3 tablespoons of water. Process until avocado mixture is smooth, then stream the EVOO into the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings.

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Once the chipotle chicken rolls are cooked, remove from oven and let them cool just enough to handle. Slice into bite sizes pieces for dipping.

The rolls waiting to be baked. I let them in the oven for about 17 minutes and then sliced into the thickest part of the roll (eventhough it should be uniform without a 'thickest part'!) to test the doneness.

I had a lot of trouble with the phyllo dough, which was excepted because of my past experience with it, which I didn't recall until I started unrolling the dough. Note: Make sure the dough is completely thawed before you unroll it; otherwise, it will crack, hence the 2 smaller rolls and one long one, which didn't matter because you're slicing them anyway.

You have to be very careful while squeezing the chicken mixture through the bag. My bag burst so I ended up forming the meat into a log without the bag, which is an option too.

The avacado dipping sauce was kind of bland. I added pepper and more salt but it was still refreshing with the chicken. We used the Magic Bullet instead of a food processor. Greg is always the MB guy so he was in charge of making the sauce and he did a fine job!

I had to open an entire can of chipoltes just for the one, so now I am looking for something to do with these hot little guys...

These rolls can also be served as an appetizer... a slice on a toothpick!

The chicken rolls were very flavorful and despite the phyllo dough drama, I would make these again! I would play around with a different dipping sauce next time though.