You know the drill. Easter is over. Chocolate bunnies sit in their baskets devoid of ears, pieces of shiny fake green grass are strewn from one end of the house to the other, and no fewer than two dozen eggs bide their time in the refrigerator, asking themselves but one thing:
“Will we be eaten? Or tossed to the curb with all that shiny fake green grass?”
Which is where I make a confession. As much as I love boiled eggs and deviled eggs, I have a real problem eating them after they’ve been dyed for Easter. Oh, sure. I know the dye is OK to eat, but there’s something about seeing that cooked white turned every color of the rainbow that just doesn’t sit well with me. Am I alone on this?
Anyway, I digress. Because a refrigerator full of eggs is opportunity in the making! So many things to do with those boiled eggs. So few hours in the day… So instead of me grumbling about the yucky color on the egg whites, let’s operate on the waste-not,-want-not premise – at least for today. May I present…
Liz’s Top Seven ways to use boiled eggs
- Deviled – or dressed – eggs. Mom often asks me to bring dressed eggs for family dinners. Does that mean the other eggs are naked? Or is it a throw back to the old saying “dressed for dinner”? Anywho, cut the eggs in half, remove the yolks, mix some mayo, a pinch of sugar, maybe a dash of mustard, salt, pepper and paprika with the egg yolks and fill the egg white halves. When I’m feeling really creative, I put the yolk mix in a plastic baggie, cut off a corner of the bag, and pipe the mixture into the egg whites. Clearly, that doesn’t happen very often, but it sure looks good when it does.
- Egg salad. As far as I’m concerned, this is another way of saying easy deviled eggs. While this one may be a given, I also think it is often overlooked as an easy use for boiled eggs. It can be as simple as chopping up the eggs and throwing in a little mayo, salt and pepper. Or you can kick it up a few notches with some tuna, olives, capers, onions or whatever floats your boat. Can be eaten on bread or toast, or straight out of the bowl.
- Spinach salad. What better way to go healthy than by throwing chopped or sliced boiled eggs on a mound of fresh spinach? Add some onion, mushrooms, and crumbled bacon, and whip up a nice hot bacon dressing. Dinner is served.
- Cobb salad. If you’ve never eaten a cobb salad, here’s a pretty traditional recipe to check out.
- Potato salad. What is more American than a good potato salad? Boil a few potatoes, add some mayo, pickle relish, onion, salt and pepper and fold in a few chopped boiled eggs. Summer comfort food, if you ask me.
- Giblet gravy. A hands-down favorite of mine. Ladle over fried chicken, turkey, pork chops or mashed potatoes.
- Easy chicken-rice casserole, courtesy of Cooks.com:
- 3 c. cooked chicken
- 3 1/2 c. cooked rice loosely, tossed
- 2 c. diced celery
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 tbsp. chopped onion
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
- 1/2 c. water
- 5 sliced hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Mix chicken, rice, celery, cream of chicken soup, onion and lemon juice. Add mayonnaise which has been mixed with water. Add hard-boiled eggs. Fold all together gently and place in 9 x 13 greased pan. Make the day ahead. Take out 1 hour before baking. Top with crushed barbecue or regular crushed potato chips.
Bake at 375°F for 45 to 60 minutes. Don’t overcook.
Enjoy your boiled egg leftovers!
-Liz
