Deviled Eggs

I absolutely love deviled eggs! My Mom used to make them every Easter Sunday growing up, however, I think life is too short to only have these delectable appetizers once a year.

I've adapted this recipe from a few I have tried, and I think the addition of bacon is what really takes these puppies to a whole other level. Enjoy :).

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs + a few extras
• 1 teaspoon pickle juice
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ¼ cups finely grated yellow onion
• 5 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles
• paprika (to sprinkle on top)

Of course, the first step is boiling the eggs. But I hate when recipes say something like "boil the eggs" and don't explain how to do so. There are many schools of thought on the best way to boil an egg, and I basically combine three different methods.

I put my eggs in a pan big enough where they aren't completely smooshed together.

Then I add this nifty egg boiling thingy...

Fill the pan with water so that there is about an inch of water above the eggs, and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Then turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

While the eggs are cooking, you can prep the other ingredients.

Cook the bacon...

Chop the parsley (note that this is optional, and I have recently decided that I prefer them without the parsley)...

and grate the onion...

On that note, shout out to my awesome parents-in-law who bought me some onion goggles for Christmas.

And they really work!

I had Josh take a picture of me in these things, but I don't know if I really want that floating around on the Web :).

Back to the eggs...despite my cool egg boiling gadget, I also always add a few extra eggs so I can test a couple to see if they are done yet (this also comes in handy when you peel the eggs, because I inevitably mess one up in the process).

For example, this one wasn't quite ready yet.

Once the eggs are ready, immediately put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

While the eggs are cooling, put all the other ingredients in a big bowl.

Chop the pickle if you haven't already, and add that in as well. I usually wait and chop the pickle at this point because you need the pickle juice too, so I get it out all at once.

Once the eggs have cooled, it is time to get peeling. This is not the most fun process, so try recruiting some family members to assist. Unfortunately for me, Josh was running some errands, and Stella and Louie aren't much help in the kitchen :).

In fact, Louie was lounging on the couch. What a rough life.

So, I peeled all these eggs by myself.

Once they are peeled, slice them in half lengthwise. Put the yolks in the bowl with the other ingredients, and put the empty whites on your serving plate.

Since I was taking these to Jeff & Jill's for the Superbowl, I put mine in a portable pyrex dish and then in my nifty cooled egg plate once we got there.

Next, mash up all the ingredients in the bowl until the yolks are completely smooth and mixed in.

Spoon this mixture into a piping bag (or ziploc bag with the corner cut).

And pipe it into the egg whites. You could also just spoon in the mixture, but I don't think it comes out as pretty.

Finally, sprinkle on the paprika for a little color. You can tell I was in a hurry with these...the paprika is kind of all over the place. Whoops!

Nom nom nom. It is really hard to eat just one of these.

Make them for Easter Sunday, your next party, or for a random treat on a Tuesday night. Again, life is too short to just enjoy these yummy treats on special occasions.