#Recipes: Easter

Monday, April 14, 2014

Deviled Eggs 9 Ways, from North to South & East to West

I love deviled eggs but lets be honest, a person an only take so many mayo/mustard/vinegar stuffed eggs in the span of the few days following Easter. We usually end up throwing away half of the hard boiled eggs we had fun coloring and decorating for The Egg Hunt, such a waste! So instead of nixing a fun tradition, I took note of a post from Cooking Light and created 3 variations of deviled eggs using some of our favorite ingredients. The result? Eggstrodinary! {work with me, I don't get out much, my 7 year old thought it was funny}.

Three completely different flavors, one from the north seas and two from my beloved South West. I could live quite happily as a Pescatarian with the occasional fillet Mignon and smoked salmon is and always will be my favorite treat. Nova Scotia smoked salmon is not only for breakfast bagels smeared with cream cheese and topped with thinly sliced red onion then garnished with capers (now I'm craving one!) but turns plain deviled eggs into a special occasion worthy hors d' oeuvres.

Pre-Easter brunch with mimosas anyone?

Guacamole is a staple side dish here in Phoenix and I for one can not get enough of it, despite my mild allergy to them. So why not throw some ripe avocado into the mix? I used a 1:1 ratio of sour cream and plain, Greek yogurt. Then of course I added bacon, green onion and a squeeze of lime. To kick it up a notch I added a pinch of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Damn good!

Last but not least, something spicy, tangy and sweet was in order. I like to give all of my taste buds equal opportunity to enjoy themselves. If you will. How about pickled jalapenos and sweet pickles? No Easter is complete with out sweet pickles right? Again, I used a mix of mayo and Greek yogurt to lighten up the calories and keep with the fresh, zinginess of Spring.

The possibilities are endless! Other ingredients and flavors I'm thinking would make

spectacular deviled eggs are:

Sirachi + mini Shrimp or Crab meat
Diced ham + Sharp Cheddar + Dijon Mustard
Corned Beef + Horseradish Mustard
Asparagus + Pearl Onion + Whole Grain Brown Mustard
Pickled Beets + Shaved Asparagus + Shaved Almonds
Prosciutto + Petite Peas

What duo or trio would you use for deviled eggs extraordinaire?

What are your families favorite traditional Easter foods to share?

Jalapeño eggs adapted from Cooking Light

TIME 30 MINUTES YIELDS 36 DEVILED EGGS

Deviled Eggs with Avocado Cream, Bacon and Onions

6 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon plain, Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon lime juice
handful of green olives with pimentos
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 tablespoons *soft bacon bits
pinch of chili powder
pinch of cayenne powder
dash of garlic powder

pinch of cumin

Shell eggs and cut in half lengthwise. In a small food processor combine cooked egg yolks, sour cream, yogurt, lime juice and spices. Pulse until smooth.
Add green onions, bacon bits and chopped green olives. Stir to combine. Using a small spoon, scoop filling back into eggs.

These eggs are best served immediately or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled so they don't brown. The lime juice helps with this.

*Packaged soft bacon bits are found in the condiment aisle at most grocery stores. They are great for deviled eggs and potato salad and have a fraction of the fat as cooked bacon. Not to mention, cut down on prep time.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

6 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon real mayo
1-2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1 tablespoon capers
dash of freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh dill weed, chopped
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
4 oz. Smoked Nova Scotia Salmon, chopped

Shell eggs and cut in half lengthwise. In a small food processor combine cooked egg yolks, yogurt, mayo and onion. Pulse till smooth. Add dill, tarragon, capers, pepper and salmon pieces. Stir to combine. Scoop into eggs. Serve chilled

Jalapeño and Gherkins Deviled Eggs

6 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 tablespoon plain, Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayo
3 Gherkin pickles (sweet pickles)
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños

Shell eggs and cut in half lengthwise. In a small food processor combine cooked egg yolks, yogurt, mayo, pulse till smooth. Add chopped pickles and jalapeños. Stir to combine. Scoop filling back into eggs.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Orange and Honey Roasted Carrots with Candied Pecans: Healthy Easter Sides

One of these days I'm gonna get the hang of this whole food blogging thing. I'll be able to throw together simple meals and snacks without completely devastating my kitchen or taking ten times longer than it should. I'm also in high hopes that my food photography will, in the words of FoodGawker be 'Better Composed' and have 'Better Lighting'. It's true, cant' say I blame em', there are some pretty amazing foodie sites out there who really seem to have it all together. (Do they have a kid-free home? A team of professional food stylist following them around? A Master's degree in Food-ology? That's gotta be it! ;)

What I have going for me:

I know the foods I make are actually really delicious and usually super simple. I take basic, healthy recipes and give them more flavor. Mamma likes flavor. I take common 'kid friendly' and 'comfort' foods and make them healthier without sacrificing flavor.

The dishes and snacks on Simply Healthy Family are do-able. Real Food for Real People. There may be some foods or ingredients you haven't tried before but everything's found at your neighborhood grocery store, nothing fancy. Not that I don't like gourmet, I'm just not in a gourmet point in my life at the moment. *sigh

The foods I end up posting on Simply Healthy Family are all Kid Friendly and Busy Mommy/Person Friendly. I have 4 kids and so I know all to well the 'Dinner Time Show Down' with getting kids to eat veggies, beans, grains ect. That's why I created this blog. To help people with these issues. Give you new and simple ideas, ones that actually taste good.

So sometimes, regardless of how simple my recipes are, the finished picture doesn't turn out as planned. Poor lighting and composition is usually to blame (according to FoodGawker), but I like to also blame my kids for this. What loving mother wouldn't? ;)

Let me explain. I'm losing my mind you see. Plain and simple. The with-it-ness is being sucked out of me little by little. I used to be a with it girl, spunky and smart. Never used to forget anything. Those days have sailed, approximately 2 or 3 kids ago to be exact.

We are lucky in that we have very big families on both mine and my husbands side. So holidays are always busy and fun and with tons of good food. This means I usually have to cook very little or not at all. More importantly, there's less to clean up! We celebrated yesterday because my dad and step-mom are going to be at their house in Mexico on Easter weekend. I thought I'd bring a healthier veggie dish to share. I didn't want to freak any one out by bringing steamed spinach or kale chips however, baby steps.

I decided to bring these Orange and Honey Glazed Carrots with Candied Pecans. Besides, they'd look good in my beautiful new ceramic pot from Italy. ;) All day Sunday we were busy doing some much needed Spring cleaning and I didn't get started on my dish until about an hour before we had to leave. So in the rush to throw things together and take a picture to share I forgot to sprinkle on my beautiful candied pecans. Dangit! I also discovered that the carrots shrunk a bit while roasting and didn't come near enough to feed 15 people or to fill my pretty pot. Oops.

Imagine how good the candied pecans taste with these Honey-Orange Carrots!

Soooo, at the last minute while Jim was throwing kids in the car, I'm pressure cooking some more carrots and throwing them into the pot and drizzling some honey over them and a bit more orange zest. Voila! Disaster averted, sort of. There are still no pecans in my picture so now they just look like plain ol' carrots,
The Shame! Oh well, I gave you my disclaimer so you understand right? Right?

They tasted really fabulous and got rave reviews and so you must try them. I recreated this recipe from some very basic ones around the Internet. Steaming them for a couple of minutes before roasting them quickens the cooking time and helps them not to dry out I think. I used my pressure cooker at the 1st red ring for just ONE minute then released the pressure by running cool water over the lid.

What are your favorite healthy side dishes?

SERVES 6-8 as a side dish TIME 40 MINUTES
Ingredients:

4 lbs baby carrots (pretty heirloom carrots with little stems still attached would be lovely but I used mini-carrots to save money)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP Organic honey
zest from 1 orange
2 TBSP orange juice
small handful of fresh curly parsley
1 TBSP fresh chives, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400F
In a large pot (I used my pressure cooker, see above note if you have one) add lemon juice to 2 cups water. Steam carrots for just 2 minutes. Drain. Add carrots to a large bowl and toss with olive oil, honey, orange juice and zest. Spread onto a shallow baking dish lined with foil. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 20-30 minutes till fork tender. Remove from heat and toss with chopped parsley and chives just before serving.

Top With Pecans! ;)

FOR THE CANDIED PECANS: Make these ahead of time (unlike me ;)

1 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup turbinado (Raw) sugar (use white if you must ;)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg white

Pre-heat oven to 300F. Line a shallow baking pan with wax paper.

In a small sauce pot, combine water, sugar and vanilla. Over medium high heat bring to gentle boil, whisk occasionally. Bring to simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes whisking occasionally. Remove from heat, whisk in cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg white. Add pecans, toss to coat. Pour sugar mixture over pecans, toss to coat.
Spread pecans on prepared baking dish trying not to let them touch if possible. Bake at 300F for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them being careful not to let burn. Turn with spatula if necessary. (I didn't have to)
Remove from oven, break apart any pecans stuck together. Set aside.