Easter Egg Recipes - Leftovers Series

For some, it's all about eggs for Easter this Sunday and I have a basketful of recipes for leftover ovums the kids can't finish. So read on for using up eggs that are hard-boiled, because there is no way youngsters can put away that many. And be sure to set aside a few raw eggs for some of my recipes listed below (click on any recipe name to see the original blog post.)

Eggs are still a great deal. Lately, I get my eggs from a local Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, a dollar for half a dozen medium eggs, and sometimes they even carry a dozen for a dollar.

The easiest leftover use of eggs is a simply delish Egg Salad. It's the quickest and easiest way to use up leftover boiled eggs.

Half a dozen cooked and peeled Easter eggs mixed with a little mayo and some chopped celery will yield a bowlful of creamy deliciousness that can go between 2 toasted slices of bread, as a topping for your favorite salad, or serve spread on your favorite crackers as appetizers.

Ingredients (about 3 sandwiches)

• 6 eggs - I used small eggs. Boiled, peeled and chopped. about 2 cups total after chopped.
• 1/4 cup mayo - I used light mayo. Okay to add more. Add an extra teaspoon at a time to reach desired creaminess. Large eggs will need more mayo.
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped - including leaves on the stalk -- if it comes with them. About 1/2 cup total after chopped.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Water to boil eggs.

*Many recipes call for mustard, I like it without. But you can add it - try a teaspoon Dijon or regular mustard. You can also use 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard powder.

Directions
In a pot add eggs and cover with an inch of water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Just when eggs start to boil, turn off the heat completely and cover the pot with a lid (or plate.) Let sit for 15 minutes. Eggs will continue to cook in the hot water. (Okay to use any favorite boiled egg recipe you may already have.)

Meanwhile chop one stalk of celery, including leaves. Chop finely.

After 15 minutes, remove eggs and rinse off in cold water, so you can peel them without burning your fingers. You can also let them sit in a bowl of cool water with some ice cubes for about 5 minutes.

Now time to bring it all together. Peel, discard shells and chop the eggs. You can add them as you chop to a large bowl. I usually chop the eggs in half, then place them yolk side down on chopping board and finish slicing.

Add all the chopped eggs to a bowl. Mix in the chopped celery. Finally, scoop in 1/4 cup of mayo. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Try out a small spoonful of Egg Salad. At this point you can add more mayo if you like, a teaspoon at a time to reach desired creaminess.

I find less mayo and mustard (optional) the better, as they easily overpower the mild egg flavor.

A scoop of Egg Salad goes well with your favorite vegetable salad. Egg Salad is a tasty party dip on your favorite chips or crunchy veggie slices. Also, try a spoonful on an avocado half. But I like an Egg Salad Sandwich the best.

This recipe is easy to double using a dozen eggs -- just add another 1/4 cup of mayo and another rib of chopped celery. Keep finished Egg Salad covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Okay, let's take an ovum break -- for kids there is a lot of chocolate on the scene like this.

Another early recipe of mine is a silly Devilish Deviled Eggs I made one Halloween. Fun and tasty. Of course, leave out the spicy chili peppers for kid-friendly bites. And you can find all the yummy recipe details from my food blog by clicking on any recipe name.

For extra eggs you haven't boiled yet (or set aside,) there are a lot of my cheap$kate recipes to choose from, like a filling Pasta alla Carbonara with egg yolk and crumbled browned bacon over spaghetti; or a baked omelet-like Frittata with pasilla chili, chorizo, potato and cheese.

Scrambled eggs come in many variations. Jewish delis have a couple of good ones that I've adapted. I get corned beef on sale during St. Patrick's Day, so it's only natural to have some of it sauteed with eggs (even better is pastrami made from corned beef - my recipe is here.

Small packages and cans of salmon come cheaply and I like to add it to my Jewish Breakfast Scramble. And add a dollop of cream cheese and you have a lighter substitution for Lox and Cream Cheese Bagel. Try it sometime, I know you will like it, too.

Booze and eggs go together, especially if you're making my Homemade Eggnog. This video recipe is one of my holiday favorites. You won't believe your eyes when you see my intoxicated antics after imbibing on one Eggnog too many. Be sure to watch this recipe video all the way to the end!



One of my earliest published recipes is also one of the quickest and easy to make: Scrambled Eggs and Sundried Tomatoes. I like to keep a jar of pungent dried tomatoes in herbs and oil in the refrigerator, right next to my carton of eggs. For a non-oil, lighter version, use plain dried tomatoes in a plastic pouch, too (this is what my wife uses.)

Eggs make a great binder for my sister Denise's Veggie Eggplant Burgers. (You should make sure to check out the video we made that features a wacky shopping spree in my local 99c only Store.) And you want to add a scrambled egg or two when you make my cheap$kate version of Chinese Fried Rice.

Ever make Crepes Suzette? There's not much to it really, just eggs, flour, milk and to quote Julia Child's nephew: "lots of butter." And who's the famed chef's nephew anyway?

Well, just watch the video to see this outrageous character shopping in the Hollywood Farmer's Market -- then moving on to the kitchen to show you how to make a tender and delicate pancake-like dessert.

 Do you have a package of frozen veggies in the freezer accumulating frost, and a crisper drawer full of veggies that are close to being thrown out? Well, just rinse off the frozen veggies and slice off the brown spots from the bell pepper and onion to make my colorful Veggie Frittata. For this photo story recipe I ran out of eggs, but my neighbor Nuno was kind enough to lend me a few. (How's that for a cheap$kate move, free eggs!)

If you have a small patio garden then I have a couple of nutritious recipes to use the freshly picked bounty. An easy veggie to grow is bright green Swiss Chard. Just saute it for a couple of minutes and add it to your favorite omelet recipe, my recipe is here.

Every time I change out the dirt from my teeny garden, seeds sprout willy-nlly. Often it's some kind of squash, that never bears fruit. Oh well, that's okay because the flowers make a great Squash Blossom Omelet.

I grew up in the South and was raised on Mexican food for a while. Almost everyone in Texas has tried Migas, which are tortilla pieces scrambled in eggs. And, you can't get simpler than having Refried Beans and Eggs. I didn't think I would like this meal at first, but learned that scrambled eggs elevate any humble ingredient!

Refried Pinto Beans & Scrambled Eggs

I get all types of Mexican chorizo at my local 99c only Store, including beef, pork, and soy (vegetarian.) Mexican chorizo is different than Spanish chorizo, mainly it's the texture. Spanish chorizo is hard like salami and Mexican chorizo is soft like ground meat. It's a pungent and flavorful protein that mixes well for Chorizo and Scrambled Eggs. And use it to stuff a Breakfast Taco or Breakfast Burrito.

Click to magnify.

Huevos Rancheros are the Eggs Benedict of Mexican cuisine. A corn tortilla with refried beans and a fried egg that's topped with crumbled queso fresco (cheese,) and your favorite salsa, is a decadent and filling way to start the day. Make a batch of this your family sometime, it's quite easy to do when you follow this cheap$kate's recipe.

You can top any of my Mexican breakfast entrees with a favorite jarred salsa or go here to see my list of Homemade Salsa Recipes, with links, that include:  Roasted Salsa Verde (tomatillo,) Red Chili (2 dried types - but the same recipe,) Pico de Gallo and Mango.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Looking to impress an overnight guest, then serve them my recipe for Eggs Florentine for breakfast. This creamy spinach and egg dish will keep any afterglow going. And if that doesn't work then I have a sensuous Fried Egg on Breadcrumbs with Asparagus.

I like a challenge. A favorite breakfast fast food is the classic Egg McMuffin. It's not as cheap as it used to be, so I figured out how to make my own cheaper version. And I share it with you in this homemade video recipe.


And for an extra hardy breakfast be sure to add my Old School Hash Browns to the menu.

If you are flush with cash and your ship has come in, then make like a bonus bloated Wall Street con artist and serve up my Billionaire's Crab Omelet. (I even give you a cheap$kate shortcut, just in case the stock market crashes, your government bailout  is rejected, and all your chips have been cashed in.)

And for my latest egg recipe video, I made a classic French-style Cheese Omelette. What's the difference between it and the ones you get at a typical American diner? Well, it all about technique, mainly you just soft scramble the eggs in butter, add the cheese and gently roll the egg to close up the omelette. Most American-style omelets are cooked dry, while a French omelette is slightly moist in the middle. It's a different way to cook an omelette, but I've grown to like it.



Eggs for dinner? Heck yeah, especially when pizza is on the menu. Break an egg on your favorite homemade or store-bought pizza during the last 10 minutes of oven baking. A mix of creamy yolk is a sumptuous topping, so be sure to try my Pizza with Egg recipe.

And finally, if you're looking for a bit of levity, well, I have an early morning fried egg comedy video to brighten your day, here.



Whew, that's a lot of ovum riffing, I'm exhausted. You've just scrolled through over 10 years of recipes from my food blog.

And if you want even more egg pictorial poetics then click here to view a fun video.

Cooking with eggs is cheap. While not as inexpensive as they used to be, it's still affordable, especially when you use any of my creative and tasty recipes listed above.

Black Pepper Chicken - Panda Express Recipe

This is the kind of cheap$kate recipe I excel at. All the ingredients are affordable for any budget. I ripped off this stir-fry recipe from Panda Express and undercut them in price, too. For the price of one order, you get about 2 to 4 servings from my recipe (depending on how cheap chicken is in your neck of the woods.)

Just to let you know, I like Panda Express and am grateful they have tasty stir-frys at a reasonable price. Not everyone has one in their town or city, so this tasty recipe is especially for you.

My Black Pepper Chicken recipe is made with cheap dark chicken meat and the veggies are priced the lowest in any grocery produce section.

I use half a bunch of celery, and I can get a whole bunch of crunchy celery for a dollar or less.

And onions are so cheap that I used the most expensive type, red onion, which costs way less than a dollar per pound at my local Latin grocery store. It's okay to substitute with budget yellow or white onion.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I also use coarse ground black pepper that I get from my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. They also sell whole peppercorns, that can be crushed, so you get bites loaded with spicy pepper. Of course, you can use regular ground pepper. Use as much or as little as you can handle.

The stir-fry ingredients amounts can be adjusted. You like a lot of crunchy veggies? Then add an extra stalk or two of celery. I always have extra celery in the bottom of my refrigerator, so this recipe is perfect for using it all up. And notice how I slice the celery at a diagonal, so the pieces are larger.

This recipe makes three to four servings. If you want more protein then add another chicken thigh or leg. This recipe is so cheap that you can use breast meat.

I was feeling lazy, so I purchased boneless and skinless leg quarters at my local Latin market. for 88 cents per pound (I've noticed you have to sometimes remove a small white hard cartilage piece in the middle of a mechanically separated leg quarter meat.)

With a little bit of work you can remove the chicken skin and bone. Breast meat is the easiest to fillet. You can also just saute leg and/or thigh meat and remove the bone after it's cooked, while you saute the veggies.

I like stir-fry recipes because they are quick and easy to do. Most use soy sauce and a little garlic. I like to add a teaspoon of sugar to cut the saltiness of soy sauce. If you have some ginger and vinegar then use that too, but you can leave them out for this recipe.

Try out my latest cheap$kate recipe, Black Pepper Chicken and make enough to bring to lunch, instead of blowing your hard earned dollars at Panda Express.

Black Pepper Chicken - Video

Play it here. video runs 3 minutes 49 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

• 3-4 pieces of chicken - about a pound of skinless and boneless. 3 to 4 dark meat pieces or a whole chicken breast. You can remove bone and skin from chicken before or after cooking it.
• 4 stalks of celery - sliced. About 2 cups. Okay to add more if you like.
• 1 whole onion - sliced. I used red, but you can use any cheaper white or yellow onion.
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic - fresh or from jar.
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger - optional. Dried, fresh or from jar. Okay to use a teaspoon of powdered ginger.
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce - I used lite or low sodium. No salt is necessary for recipe as I find soy sauce has plenty, but you can add some if you like.
• 2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper - Okay to add more or less, to suit your taste. Course ground pepper is best, but you can use regular ground black pepper.
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch - optional. This will give you a thick sauce.
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar - any type, optional. I used apple cider vinegar.
• 1 teaspoon of sugar - optional. Okay to use your favorite sweetener.
• 1 tablespoon oil - for frying chicken. Add more depending how much chicken is used.

Directions
Remove skin and bone from chicken. I got boneless and skinless dark meat at my local Latin market for less than a dollar per pound. You can cook dark meat with the bone in, then remove chicken meat while you saute veggies. White meat is easiest to remove from bone.

Coat chicken with cornstarch, optional. Cornstarch will make a thick gravy.

In a large frying pan or a wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a medium/hot pan. Add chicken and cook until done, about 3-5 minutes if the chicken is cubed. For whole chicken pieces it will take longer, about 7-10 minutes. Chicken is done when there is no pink color in thickest part of chicken.

While chicken cooks you can slice the celery and onion. Slice celery at a diagonal so you get longer and larger celery chunks. Discard a 1/4 inch of tough white celery end at the root.

Slice one onion. I like larger pieces for the onion, too. You can chop it smaller if you like.

Dark meat has a lot of moisture so you will get a flavorful gravy. For white meat you may need to add a 1/4 cup of water. If chicken dries out when sauteing, then add some water if you like sauce.

After chicken is done add the sliced celery and onion. (Okay to remove chicken if your pan is too small.) Saute and stir veggies for just a minute or two. You want some crunch, so best not to overcook veggies.

Next, make a clear area in center of frying pan and add the chopped garlic and ginger. Stir for a minute.

Add soy sauce and vinegar. Add a teaspoon of sugar or favorite sweetener, optional.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons of crushed black pepper. You can add one tablespoon and taste, then add more until desired flavor. Okay to use ground pepper. Crushed peppercorns are the most intense way to go.

If you like more sauce, then pour in a 1/4 cup of water or broth, and stir-fry another minute.

Serve over rice, favorite grain or noodles. It's good on its own, too.

Hindsight
If you like more veggies in your stir-fry, then add more celery. Same goes for chicken.

You don't want to overcook the veggies, so just saute for a couple of minutes, at the most.

Using a pepper grinder makes the most intense flavor, with black peppery bites.

Make your life easier and use store bought bottled Chinese Stir-Fry Sauce, if you like.

You can make this stir fry with any cheap seasonal veggie you like, including carrots, spinach, broccoli, and squash.

Use any cut of chicken you like. Keep it lighter with lean white meat. For this recipe I used cheaper dark meat -- it's all good.

Lobster Bisque - Deal of the Day

Creamy, rich and seafood pungent, my latest Deal of the Day is a great cold weather soup. Lobster Bisque by Hanover Foods hits the spot and is the right price for this cheap$kate.

My local Dollar Tree stocks it from time to time -- when it's there I like to get a can.

It's only 10.5 ounces of thick soup that directions say to add a can of milk. That's what I did, but next time I would add no more than 3/4 or half a can of milk.

I found it watered down the Lobster Bisque. I wanted a Clam Chowder consistency. But it was still a tasty bowl of goodness.

Click on any photo to see larger.

The bisque was sweet and not too salty as with most canned soups.  The ingredient list starts with water whole milk and cream -- you can really get that rich mouth feel from the milk and cream.

Celery and spices are also listed, but these ingredients are minor. What stands out is the creamy seafood lobster flavor.

While not a wimpy Lobster Bisque, don't expect chunks of lobster for $1. There are a few crumbs of ground lobster in the soup just to let you know they use the real thing.

If you want a meaty soup on the cheap then I would add a few chunks of krab or fake crab. If you have some frozen bay shrimp add that. Hey, go all out and get a small lobster tail !!

This can of Lobster Bisque will not fill you up, so serve it with some crusty bread, a salad or a sandwich. I made a Sliced Turkey Breast Sandwich with melted cheese -- boy was that a great combo.

So how does this Deal of the Day rate on my Cheap$kake Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best? I give Lobster Bisque by Hanover a strong 7!

While not an East Coast Classic Lobster Bisque, for a buck this will do on a cold winter's day.