The Art of the Easter Egg + How to Hard Boil an Egg.

Little Man is still a little young to dye the Easter eggs this year. It was convenient that Easter came at the end of my week to plan our date night. I boiled up 2 dozen eggs to color in hopes that I could use them the next day for deviled eggs on Easter Day. (strange that deviled eggs are common on the day we celebrate Christ... just sayin')

We had fun with all the colors that came in the PAAS original package. We chose to use vinegar as it gives a more vibrant color. Here's a look at our creative outlet.

Here is the awesome creativity that comes from the hubby...

needless to say, it hasn't been eaten yet...

I mentioned that I was hoping to use these lovely eggs for my deviled egg contribution to Easter dinner. I am now pro at boiling the eggs to perfectly golden centers (after that oh-so-helpful food science class) and I wasn't worried. Until we tried to peel them...

This is one of the better ones... and not pretty enough for little chick-lets coming out of their eggs... the moral of the story? (one I forgot, even after my food science class)

Buy your Easter eggs about a week or two before you boil them up for decorating. The fresh eggs have hearty albumen (the yucky clear gooey stuff when the egg is raw... that turns white when you cook it) that holds to the shell very well. As an egg ages, that albumen (see, you learned a new word today!) thins a little and is less able to stick to the shell, thus it is easier to peel a boiled egg.

How to boil an egg:
1. place desired amount of eggs in bottom of a pan (choose a small pot if you are only doing a few eggs.)
2. cover eggs (barely cover) with cold water.
3. cover pan and bring to a rolling boil.
4. just as it comes to a rolling boil (I mean, rolling bubbles, rolling. Not the wimpy sorta-bubbles) take the pot off the heat.
5. Let the eggs sit in the hot pot for 15 minutes. -more and you will get that yucky grey-ish film on your yolk. less and the middle of the yolk is not completely cooked (and it wont come out of your egg nicely for your deviled eggs)
6. after 15 minutes, cold shock your eggs to stop them from cooking. Take the pot, and run cold water over the eggs until it has replaced the hot water and is cold to the touch.

I did boil another set of eggs... for dinner... I followed a method for peeling them that I found via Pinterest. You can see her post for the "World's Easiest Boiled Egg" here. They peeled beautifully, but...I was in a rush and I cooked them for 14 minutes and they didn't turn out. Moral of this story? Do NOT rush the art of the boiled egg...

Shrimp-Stuffed Shells

This recipe came out of a Cooking Light magazine. I made some adjustment with the supplies I had on hand... They were pretty good, and pretty healthy too. My husband says I can definitely make them again. :)

The recipe said that you can find potato starch near the cornstarch in the grocery store. It also explained that the shrimp goes into the pasta shells raw to prevent it from over cooking while the pasta bakes.

{ingredients}
20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about 8 oz)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c. chopped shallots
2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves) {I used some garlic powder... as I didn't have the other stuff}
1/2 c. (4 oz) cream cheese {you can use 1/3 less fat version}
1/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil {nope didn't have any of these. I used Italian seasoning instead}]...}
1 lb medium shrimp- peeled, deveined, and coarsley chopped {I had pre-cooked, frozen shrimp. So I thawed them and used them instead. It is also important to take not of the coarsly chopped... I used a food processor and it made them a little too fine it made a funny texture.}
1 Tbsp potato starch {I had no idea what this was... and didn't get any before trying it...}


{directions}
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook pasta 7 minutes, or until al dente, omitting salt and fat. Drain well. {I only cooked them for 5 minutes so they were less likely to break. upon filling and baking...}
3. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots; cook 4 minutes, stirring ocasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add cream cheese mixture to shrimp; toss well.
5: {this is where I took the liberty to make them my own way} Put the mixture in a ziploc bag and cut one of the corners off. Use it to squeeze it into the shells.
6. Coat a 9 X 13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; spread 1 c. marinara sauce over the bottom of dish. Arrange shells in prepared dish; top with remaining 2 cups marinara. Sprinkle shells evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until shrimp is done.

Huevos Rancheros

Mom sent me to a cooking class to learn some different breakfast foods. She told me that Huevos Rancheros is one of my dad's favorite things. Not that I can cook authentic mexican food... but these were pretty good anyway! I made them for my family and they all had seconds. So I take that to mean they were decent.

{ingredients}
6 eggs
6 corn tortillas
2 cups black beans- drained
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 small can (4 oz) chili peppers- chopped
1 large can chili verde sauce
2 c. salsa
1 1/2 c. queso fresco (found in the normal cheese isle)
salt and pepper

{directions}
In a skillet, lightly brushed with oil, toast corn tortillas. In a small saucepan, combine the beans, cumin, chili powder, and chopped chili peppers and heat (simmer) until bubbles.
In another saucepan, combine the salsa and the verde together and bring to a bubble. In the same skillet, spray with nonstick spray and cook each egg until sunny side up until the yolk is semi firm- salt and pepper the eggs.
Place the tortilla on a plate, spread 1/2 c. of beans over it. Next add the egg and smother with the verde salsa. Finally, sprinkle generously with queso.

*Tip #1: keep the oven at a low temperature to keep tortillas warm. 
*Tip #2: when cooking in bulk, cook the eggs until they are almost done. Let them finish cooking in the warming oven while you prepare the rest and are ready to serve. Nothing is worse than cold breakfast foods...

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Was introduced to this dish at a family gathering and fell in love with it. Easy and delicious . . . what more could you ask?

Puree in blender:
1/2 jar marinara sauce (24-26 oz.)
1 can white beans, drained
1 jar roasted red peppers (7 oz.)
2 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic

Heat:
1 can chicken broth
Remaining 1/2 jar marinara sauce.

Add blended red sauce and 1/4 c. basil. Top with Parmesan cheese.

(I found my roasted red peppers at a dollar store. Great price!)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This recipe came from Studio 5. I saw it and have been craving it ever since. Turns out, it is delicious. The only problem I ran into was what to serve it with... I decided on some broccoli for some greenery... yum.

{ingredients}
3 c. chicken- cooked and cubed
2 c. cubed ham
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. (12 oz) half and half
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 T. butter
3 T. flour

Topping: (mix together following)
1/2 c. dried bread crumbs
1 tsp melt butter
1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese

{directions}
1. Saute onions in butter, add flour. Stir half and half and bring to a boil until thick, stirring constantly. In a separate bowl, mix together chicken, ham and cheese. Pour sauce over and mix well.
2. Pour into a 9X13 pan.
3. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

**If freezing:
Step 2: place in a disposable pan, sprinkle with topping. Cover with foil and freeze.

Cinnamon Poached Pears w/ Carmel Sauce

I LOVE anything that has to do with pears. They are my fruit of choice in almost every scenario, certainly as my go-to for a healthy snack. When I see a recipe that includes a pear, I put it onto my "gotta try that" list. I got the idea for this recipe from the Real Simple magazine. I didn't follow the recipe exactly... so for the original recipe you'll have to go here. I made some of it up, and I didn't make my own caramel (cheating, I know) I could not get it to work. But it was absolutely divine all the same!

{ingredients}
8 firm Anjou, Barlett, or Bosc pears- stems attached (for pretty display)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 two inch piece fresh ginger- peeled and sliced
2 c. sugar
8 c. water
your favorite caramel sauce
2 pints vanilla ice cream
cinnamon to sprinkle for display (optional)

{directions}

1. Peel the pears. Using a melon baller, scoop out the core of each pear, starting from the bottom (leave the stem end intact).
2. In a large pot, combine the cinnamon sticks, ginger, 2 cups of the sugar, and 8 cups water. Add the pears and bring to a boil, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until the pears just begin to soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the cooking liquid (the pears will continue to cook as they cool).- {I let it cool for about 20 minutes... they were still warm when I served them, but it made for a delicious contrast to the ice cream we served it with.}
3. Serve the pears with the ice cream, drizzled with the caramel.

**Quick Tip**

these can be made up to 2 days in advance; refrigerate, covered. Bring the pears to room temp before serving.

Carmel Apple Bites

Saw this on Pinterest. It was ridiculously easy and my husband loved it!

Take an apple. (really, any kind that you would like to eat raw...)
Using a melon baller, core the apple, leaving the apple as in-tact as possible, fill hole with Vanilla Bean ice cream & drizzle with Carmel sauce. DE-lish! :)