Deviled eggs

Deviled eggs are a staple at any event...or at least they should be.  Nobody just whips up deviled eggs as a side for dinner during the week, they are a special occasion food, and one I used to hate.  Now they're one of my faves and I have to be sure to watch myself as I walk by the plate and consume half the batch before the guests get to try them!  This time I didn't get one...and that upsets me!  I thought we made a HUGE batch but I guess everyone loves deviled eggs as much as I do...and saved me from myself :)

My Aunt Vicki always brings the deviled eggs to holiday meals, which is why she is so good at it!  This is her recipe for a traditional deviled egg, and I havent found one to beat it...so here ya go, secret ingredient and all!

We quadrupled this recipe so we started by hard boiling 24 eggs...

You can't really over cook them, so I just boil them for an amount of time that I KNOW they're done.  Then take them out of the hot water to cool before peeling, it hurts too bad to try and peel the shells off when they're scorching hot!

After peeling, you cut the eggs in half the long way, and remove the yolk from the center (placing all yolks in a large mixing bowl).  You can line up your egg whites to be filled now....

Mix these ingredients (using a hand mixer) with the egg yolks until as smooth as possible (this recipe calls for 6 hard cooked eggs, so if you're doing 24 like I did, take everything times 4):

1/4 cup mayo (I use fat free)

1 t prepared mustard (I use the spicy mustard I always have on hand)

1 t vinegar (I usually use apple cider vinegar)

SECRET INGREDIENT:

2 T blue cheese dressing (I use fat free)

Mr. Cyler did a very good job of filling the eggs for me, they're pretty, aren't they?  We put these in containers and refridgerated overnight so they were a little solidified.  As you can see, we are missing a few as the whites ripped or were not thick enough to hold anything on some of them.  Which is why you always make more than you want to with this recipe...and you should always make more than you think you'll need because these things tend to disappear rather quickly!

Yes, I do have tupperware specifically made to tote around a large amount of deviled eggs...don't judge.  If you don't own some, get on it...best invention EVER!  I learned from the best though...these are my Aunt Vicki's egg containers (I have 2 like the one on the left, and one like the one on the right)...

I need to get one of these signs to post for when I bring them to parties though...

Toppings:

I usually throw some cayenne or paprika on top for color but you can sprinkle with bacon bits, parsley sprigs, etc.

Also fun..I made these for Halloween last year and used black olives as spiders to make them festive.  I bought a can of whole black olives, and cut them in half the long way.  Putting one half of the black olive on the egg, I cut the other half down the middle and then in half 4 times.  I added these smaller pieces as spider legs...I think they turned out well :)

And just because this is one of my favorite pictures ever....our Halloween costumes that year! Get it? :)