{Recipe} Shrimp + Veggie Spring Rolls

This will probably be my most colorful post yet! 

I was tempted to call these rainbow spring rolls. These were so fun to make and really yummy, too! Eugene is currently in a nutrition class and asked me to make bite-sized portions of a nutritious meal for a potluck he was having in class. We decided to make spring rolls - it was the easiest way to pack in all the fun and tasty vegetables that we wanted to include. This is so easy to prep and I'm excited to make them again for dinner sometime. There are so many different pops of flavor in each bite - I'm sure eating a full dinner portion of these spring rolls would be delicious from start to finish!

First you prep all your ingredients. A lot of washing + chopping, grilling, steaming. :)

Use a moist wash cloth over a plate as your base. It will prevent the spring roll skins from sticking to the plate and make it easier to handle. Align all the veggies out and line up your shrimp a little ways away from the veggie pile. You wanna roll these up last. 

Tuck em' in real. Keep em cozy. DON'T GO CRAZY.

Roll it in whilst tucking in the sides to ensure that it's nice and tight. 

Cut it in half so that all your friends can see how pretty the insides are. The avocado part is my fave. I'm definitely gonna make it thicker next time ;)

Enjoy immediately, if possible. If you must, must, must make them the night before, lay them on top of a moist (not wet) towel and line them up. Make sure they don't touch each other or it will get stuck together! I used little pieces of moist paper towels and put it in between each spring roll. They came out soggy the day after (so sad!) so if possible - eat em' right away. Trust me! 

Eugene and I are trying to eat more fruits and veggies in our life.
We can always use another reminder or two. :)

Shrimp + Veggie Spring Rolls
Makes 20

20 sheets of dry rice paper 
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 bunch cilantro
2 cups of shrimp
1 large cucumber
1 large squash
2 carrots
1 avocado

prep
Thinly slice bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, squash and carrots. Toast carrots and squash separately in EVOO with garlic powder, s+p to taste. Cook shrimp (either fry in EVOO or steam) and set aside. Roughly chop cilantro. Thinly slice avocado.

arrange 
Set aside a large bowl of slightly warmed water. Dip each sheet of dry rice paper in water for a few seconds. The rice paper will still be a little hard, but will soften up in a few seconds! Set on a moist towel and arrange all vegetables. Align shrimp apart from the vegetables (away from you). Fold rice paper towards the center and roll away from you whilst tucking in the sides. Enjoy immediately. Use srirarcha or fish sauce, if desired.