Perfect for Any Potluck

I’m making food for a funeral luncheon today, so I’m bringing one thing that is cheap, easy and everyone always loves to eat.

Deviled eggs!

Everyone seems to love deviled eggs, but for some unknown reason people seem to rarely make them at home for themselves. (I guess it is because you feel like you have to make a whole carton at a time. It would just seem silly to boil two eggs to make deviled eggs.) And with eggs at Aldi’s running just under $1 a dozen, and even at Wally World running just slightly above, you can make several dozen very cheaply. The add in’s for the filling are so negligible that you barely count the cost-mayo, maybe some mustard and relish and spices.

And don’t forget, you cut those puppies in half, so a dozen eggs really makes 2 dozen deviled eggs. And trust me, a couple of dozen will be gone in a heartbeat. At any potluck I’ve ever been to the deviled eggs were one of the first things to go.

A couple of neat free or frugal deviled egg ideas:

• The oldest of old standby tips for making hard boiled eggs of any kind is to put vinegar in the water. If you do that and any of the eggs crack, the egg won’t leak all out into the water, it will sort of stay in the shell. A chemist could tell you why, I however am not a chemist. I just know it works.

• Wash and reuse your egg cartons to transport and serve your deviled eggs! I wrote about this tip back in June-all you have to do is wash the cartons, then cut your eggs across the SHORT way, instead of the long way. When they are filled, set them back in the egg cartons for transport. Viola! Free “travel” containers, recycling, and if you don’t get them back you don’t have to worry. Of course, since a dozen eggs makes two dozen deviled eggs, you will need to save some extra egg cartons for this idea. Just make sure your loving significant other doesn’t decide they are trash and throw them out. Not that I am speaking from personal experience or anything.

• Use a plastic bag to fill up your eggs. Once you make your filling, re-use a food grade plastic bag (old bread bag, zipper bag, sandwich baggie-I wouldn’t recommend something stiff like those bags that shredded cheese come in though) and place the filling inside, squeezing it all down like you would for an icing bag. Then snip off a corner and squish the filling out into the shell! When you are done, you can throw out the bag content in the fact that you have done a bit of recycling, made your life easier (hey, spooning that filling in is sort of a pain) and made your clean up immeasurably easier! That is unless you let your 3 year old help with the squishing. Then it may be just as messy. . . .

• I’ve also heard a tip (which I haven’t tried) where you put the eggs into your cold pot of water, put the entire thing on to boil. When the water comes to a boil (with the eggs inside) you remove the pot from the stove and let it sit for 15 minutes. The eggs are supposed to come out perfect, you don’t have to sit around watching the pot for as long or worry about it boiling over, and you use less energy with your stove thereby saving money. Also in the dead of summer if you lack a/c (or don’t want your a/c to work as hard) and are boiling eggs this could be a lifesaver!

Are you one of those folks that absolutely must have a recipe? Try this very basic recipe and this slightly more fancy one over at Recipezaar.com