Baked Egg Rolls

I love egg rolls, but not all of the calories that can go with them. I mean, you think about what is in an egg roll and it shouldn't be all that unhealthy - it is stuffed with vegetables for Pete's sake! This week we decided to try baked, yes BAKED egg rolls. Even my artery-clogging food-loving husband enjoyed them. The kids ate them pretty well, too (especially considering they aren't really a kid food.)

• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 head of cabbage, finely chopped
• 2 carrots shredded (or you could buy the pre-shredded)
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 bag of bean sprouts
• 2 or 3 mushrooms (optional) I just like 'em
  
• 1 tsp minced ginger*
• egg roll wrappers
• cooking spray
  

Brown the beef, drain it and rinse it (get rid of as much of the fat as you can!) Then, using the same skillet, throw all of the veggies in along with the ginger and cook 3-5 minutes (just until they are beginning to get tender.) Remove from heat, and add the ground beef back in. Let the mixture cool enough to handle. Then, get your wrappers and roll, baby, roll. Once everything is rolled away, spray both sides with cooking spray, place on a cooking sheet and bake at 450 7 minutes. Flip, then bake on the other side for 7 minutes. You be the judge - if it still looks doughy and not crispy, keep baking. It won't look like a deep fried one, but it shouldn't look raw either. These will be crunchy. If they are chewy, back in the oven they go!

*a note on ginger - yes, you can buy the root and grate it yourself. But, this is expensive, and do you really need that much ginger? If you do, go for it. I, however, would never use that much, so instead buy it in the jar. Wal-Mart used to carry it before they jumped aboard the product downsizing train. That is a rant for another day, so I will just say that I have found it at Ozark Natural Food in a jar. Expect to pay about $5 a jar, but it lasts forever and you use relatively small amounts of it. If you can't find it in a jar, you can just buy it in the powder form in the spice aisle at Wal-Mart. The flavor is close to the same.