Deviled Eggs

A favorite snack of mine – I love eggs cooked just about any way! My friends and family keep asking for this recipe. I didn’t really think there was a recipe for deviled eggs, but I guess everyone has their own little secret. So – I’ll share my process.

First of all – I only buy large, organic eggs. You have to do your research here on who you are buying from as the industry is not regulated very well and the labeling can be very misleading. Local farms are the best, but there are a few grocery store options I am also good with. Farm fresh eggs are just as good as a tomato picked right off your backyard garden plant! Then – I follow this website’s exact process for boiling my eggs. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel here – this one is absolutely perfect! I follow this to the tee and cook mine right around 10 minutes for my deviled eggs.

They peel super easy every time (use the ice water bath!) and then the yolks pop right out with no problems. Cut your eggs in half and pop the yolks into a medium size bowl. I made about 18 eggs this time. My carrier only fits 2 dozen (halves), but I was taking to a big party so made a few extra.

Next, I add in some mustard. I make a homemade mustard from my banana peppers I grown in my garden. It’s fantastic – a little tangy, slight spice. You can use a store bought mustard. (I will share my recipe soon as I’m waiting to pick enough banana peppers currently). I would look for a tangy maybe honey mustard – should be kind of dark like this:

Next, add in some mayo. Again, I much prefer to use homemade and it’s so easy to make: avocado oil, 1 whole egg, squeeze of lemon juice, mustard powder, pinch of salt. It’s creamier than the store bought and tastes way better. If you are in a rush it’s totally fine to use one from the store. I like the Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayo (it’s sold on Amazon or lots of other places including Target). For my 18 eggs I used about 1/2-2/3 cup of both the mustard and mayo – it’s all about preference and texture. Just add a little of each and you can continue to add more until it’s perfect for you. I also pour in a little apple cider vinegar or if I have pickled red onions in the fridge I’ll use a little of that juice – just about a tablespoon.

Next comes my secret ingredient! I love this stuff! We purchased this for the first time at the Old Town Scottsdale farmers market, but don’t worry – you can buy it online! Saucy lips have great sauces that you can use to marinade meats, use as dressings, or put in things like deviled eggs! The Zesty cilantro is what I use for this one. I use quite a bit as I want the flavor to show about the mayo and mustard. Just mix in about a 1/4 cup and then keep adding to your preference. Here is what my final mix looks like..

I try my best to get the eggs as smooth as possible so the mix is easier to “pipe” into your egg whites. I do not have any fancy piping tips as – I do NOT bake 🙂 So, I dump this into a zip lock bag and cut the corner off and squeeze. If you have larger chunks of egg you will just have to cut a bigger hole into your baggie.

In case you’ve never done this before.. here is what I’m talking about. Just cut that little corner and start piping! That’s it! If you want to make them look pretty for serving you could sprinkle on some paprika or some diced chives on top. Or some micro-cilantro if you are using the saucy lips already. There are so many different ways you can dress up your eggs! I didn’t this time as they were being transported in my little carry case and I was just keeping it easy. Enjoy!

Easy Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
  

  • 18 Eggs large, organic
  • 2/3 cup Mustard tangy, honey mustard
  • 2/3 cup Mayo avocado oil
  • 1 tbsp Vinegar apple cider
  • 3/4 cup Saucy Lips Zesty Cilantro Sauce less sauce to taste..

Instructions
 

  • Cook your eggs according to website instructions – 10 minutes. Put in ice water bath for 5+ minutes. Peel.
  • Cut your eggs in half and dump your yolks in a medium size bowl.
  • Add your mustard, mayo, vinegar and sauce to taste and texture prefered. Try to get your mixture as creamy as possible, removing any large chunks of egg.
  • Dump your mixture into a zip lock bag and pipe into your egg whites.
  • Top with anything you desire – or a combination – paprika, chives, cilantro.

Lemon and Rosemary Marinated Olives

The idea for this was introduced to me from another good friend with a Costco membership. At one point, Costco had these wonderful olives that were marinated with lemons and rosemary – that’s about all I can remember. I searched everywhere online to find them so I could try to recreate, but it appears they do not have them any longer. No worries – my husband and I actually enjoyed these much more.

First things first, your olives. I would recommend trying to find ones that are already pitted just to save time. You can choose any varieties you like. For this one I used, whole, plain Kalamata and Castelvetrano (un-brined and un-seasoned), some Picual pieces as well as Spanish Manzanilla. It’s good to get a variety of flavors as well as colors. I placed them all in a bowl draining most of the juices. I squeezed 1/2 a fresh lemon into the bowl and mixed. My lemons are very juicy, so you might want a whole lemon.

I added about 1.5 oz of sun dried tomatoes. I used the bag of dried, julienne-cut. Then, I dug through my stash of garden herbs I dried from last year and added a large pinch of both thyme and lemon thyme. Throw in a little less than than a tbsp of minced garlic and just a couple pieces of artichoke heart (chopped up).

Chop up a few pieces of fresh rosemary and stir in with the other ingredients. Slice a lemon into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Place your lemon pieces, olives and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary into a canning jar and top with olive oil. Shake well. I would let it marinate a couple of days before using. You can put in the fridge if you want, but if you are using a good quality olive oil, chances are it will solidify. I left mine on the counter for the week and turned it over a couple of times to mix it up. I love to eat these with a fork or I also love to make bruschetta with this.

Lemon and Rosemary marinated Olives

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup Kalamata olives whole, pitted
  • 3/4 cup Castelvetrano olives whole, pitted
  • 1/2 cup Picual olives pieces
  • 1/2 cup Spanish Manzanilla olives whole, pitted
  • 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes dry, julienne cut
  • 1 tsp Thyme dried
  • 1 tsp Lemon Thyme dried
  • 1 tbsp Garlic minced
  • 2 pieces Artichoke hearts diced
  • 2-3 sprigs Rosemary fresh
  • 1 1/2 Lemon large
  • 1 1/2 cup Olive Oil extra virgin

Instructions
 

  • Place all olives, draining most of the liquid into a bowl.
  • Squeeze 1/2 large lemon over olives and stir.
  • Add sun dried tomatoes, thyme, lemon thyme, garlic and artichoke hearts and stir together.
  • Chop a small portion of your fresh rosemary and stir in to the mixture.
  • Slice your lemon into 1/8 inch thick rounds.
  • Place your lemon rounds, rosemary sprigs and olives into a canning jar and top with olive oil. Shake to mix.