Using up those extra hard-boiled eggs

Easter has come and gone and what to do with the hard-boiled colored eggs that you, your children or grandchildren colored? Make eggs or egg salad sandwiches? That’s OK...today I have recipes using hard-boiled eggs. First off.... I’ve been asked, on occasion, how to boil eggs and not have the “ishy” gray coloring around the cooked yolk. Perhaps you already know how, but if you don’t this is how I do it and the yolk is always yellow without the ishy color around it. Put the eggs in a pan, adding enough cold water to cover them. Cover the pan, bring the water just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, leave the eggs in the pan, with the lid on, for 15 minutes. Remove eggs from the water, put them in a bowl of cold water so they will stop cooking. They are ready to be used...peeling them of course.

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EGG AND HAM CASSEROLE
1 c. each, macaroni or spiral pasta, cubed ham and grated American cheese
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
1-1/4 c. milk
1 T. diced onion
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix soup and milk together. Add macaroni and rest of ingredients to soup mixture. Turn into a greased 1-1/2 qt. casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bubbling. Makes four to six servings. Note: When I cook the eggs, I cook three or four extra eggs to be used for deviled eggs, and yes, egg salad sandwiches. Cooked eggs will keep four to five days, refrigerated, in the egg carton. Also, when you crack a raw egg, there is that white, thick, ropey piece of egg white called chalazae. It’s there to anchor the yolk in the center of the egg and it is edible. Sorry, but I think it’s icky and I use a spoon to get it out of the raw egg when I’ve cracked it into a bowl.

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MEXICALI EGG CASSEROLE
8 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
2-15 oz. cans stewed tomatoes (drain liquid from just one of the cans)
1-12 oz. can Mexican-style corn, drained
2 c. corn flavored chips (Fritos)
3 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. pepper

Save out one slice of egg from center of each egg; set aside. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; gently fold in egg slices. Turn into a greased 2 qt. casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with the five egg slices. Makes 12 side-dish or six main-dish servings. Note: If you don’t have garlic salt, you can use 1/4 t. garlic powder.

I served this pizza for a brunch and all the gals thought it was delicious. Something a little different than an egg bake. This recipe uses raw eggs in the ingredients rather than cooked eggs, but I would like you to try it.

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SAUSAGE AND EGG BRUNCH PIZZA
2-8 oz. pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1/3 c. diced onion
3/4 c. sweet red pepper diced
1 small envelope country gravy mix
6 eggs
2 T. milk
1/4 t. each, salt and pepper
1 T. butter
1-1/4 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese

Separate crescent dough into 16 triangles and place on a greased 14-inch round pizza pan with points toward the center. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form crust; seal seams. Bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage, onion and pepper over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Prepare gravy mix according to package directions. Stir into sausage mixture; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture; cook and stir until almost set. Spread gravy mixture over crust. Top with egg mixture, mushrooms and cheeses. (Combine cheese before sprinkling over mushrooms.) Bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges. Makes six to eight servings. Note: Sometimes it’s hard to put a dish together when it’s a short time before it’s served. You can save your prep time by getting as much of the recipe ready beforehand, like cutting veggies and frying with the pork sausage, whisk eggs and milk in a bowl, slice mushrooms, combine cheeses and you’re about ready to go when it’s time to serve your guests. Serve a fresh fruit cup, bread sticks or muffins that you can prepare ahead of time and you will have a brunch the gals will rave about. About the pizza pan, if you don’t have one, use a cookie sheet and build up the edges of the crust. It should keep its shape as it bakes.

Thought for the Day: The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is as great as a month. We know that all too well!