Christmas Notebook

Like many other families, I’m sure, we made deviled eggs with the leftover Easter eggs this week.

When I make deviled eggs, I don’t use a recipe. I just throw ingredients together. But I tried to keep track of what I did this evening, so I could share a recipe.

This recipe is for 12 deviled egg halves (6 boiled eggs).

• 8 boiled eggs (yes, two extra)
• 3 T. mayonnaise (light mayo is fine)
• 2 tsp. lemon juice (or you could use cider vinegar)
• 2 tsp. yellow prepared mustard
• 2 tsp. pickle relish
• 1 T. fresh parsley (minced) or use 1 tsp. dry parsley
• 1/4 tsp. poppy seeds
• a sprinkle of paprika
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To boil eggs: Put them in a pan of cold water, with an inch or so of water over them. Bring to a boil, stirring (gently!) now and then to keep the yolk in the middle of the egg. Reduce heat and simmer for one minute. Remove from the heat and let set 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes are done, drain the eggs and put them into a bowl of ice water until cooled. I always boil two more eggs than I plan to serve and add those, both the whites and the yolks, to the yolk mixture to make sure I have plenty of filling to over stuff the egg whites.

Peel the boiled eggs. Halve them with a sharp knife and put the yolks into a mixing bowl. Doesn’t have to be a large bowl. And you don’t need a mixer. After the eggs are peeled, decide which of the egg white halves look the least appetizing and add four of those to the yolk mixture.

Add all the ingredients to the egg yolks. Stir and mash with a fork until the mixture is well blended.

Using two spoons, scoop and scrape the mixture onto the egg whites, filling the indentions and covering the tops.

Garnish with a sprig of parsley and/or sprinkle with paprika.

We had the eggs with pecan-crusted salmon, steamed sugar snap peas, and mashed potatoes. Delicous!

The recipe can be changed to suit your own tastes. Try adding any of the following to deviled eggs: crispy bacon, chopped tomato, cilantro, green onion, celery seed, chopped chives, dill, smoked salmon, or shredded cheese, just to mention a few options.

~~Rhonda

I tried one granola recipe and it did not turn out well. I ended up feeding it to the birds. They seemed to enjoy it. Thankfully.

The second time I made granola, I tried Alton Brown’s recipe, but had to make a couple of changes. His recipe called for cashews. I used walnuts. And I was out of maple syrup, so I used honey. Also, we don’t buy brown sugar, but make our own, so I used white sugar and added a teaspoon of molasses for the brown sugar flavor. I substituted whole grain cereal flakes for the coconut and I added dates. So, Chef Alton, thanks for sharing the great recipe and thanks to granola for being so forgiving. The perfect recipe for mixing things up to suit yourself.

Granola

Combine:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered or sliced almonds
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 c. whole grain cereal flakes (I added these to replace the coconut flakes)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar

In a separate bowl or mixing cup, stir together:

• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Add the liquid mixture to the oat mixture and stir well. Spread on two foil-lined cookie sheets.

Bake at 250*F for an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and place in a large bowl.

Add:

• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped dates

Stir well and store the cooled granola in tightly sealed containers.

This is the brand of cereal flakes I added to the granola. Any flake will work, I’m sure. These added a lot of whole grain goodness to the mix.

If you like granola, but have never tried homemade, I hope you will give this easy recipe a try. The taste is so much better than store-bought granola. And you can adjust the recipe to fit your personal tastes. Granola is great as a snack, as a cereal with milk, or sprinkled on yogurt. Enjoy!

PS, if you don’t have the old zinc lids for using your canning jars as storage jars, you can buy plastic lids that fit both the wide-mouth jars and the narrow-mouth jars. My sister found them at Wal-Mart. I found them on amazon.com. We like to store leftover soup in canning jars. Takes up less space in the fridge than other containers and makes it easy to pull out a jar to pass along, if company stops by.

I am personally apposed to acquiring one-use plastic, or any plastic that can be replaced by something made with materials that are eco-friendly. But these plastic lids will last through many uses, and they make the jars easy to use as storage containers, which saves on additional plastic. If you prefer zinc lids, ask your grandma. If grandma doesn’t have any, check junk stores, thrift stores or antique stores. They are easy to find and usually reasonably priced.

Chicken Taco Chili

~~Rhonda