Left Over Hard Boiled Eggs

What to do with leftover boiled eggs after Easter time is the question.  Of course, you can make egg salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, or potato salad but if you'd like something a bit different here are a few ideas.

First idea:  Garnish a good soup with sliced egg.  

Asparagus Soup

2 1/2 pounds asparagus, washed and woody ends trimmed

3 Tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

6 medium Yukon Gold potato

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup white wine

1/3 cup fresh dill chopped fine (or 2 tsp. dried dill)

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

2 cups cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 hard boiled eggs sliced for garnish

Cut off the asparagus tips and save for later.  Slice the asparagus into small round pieces. This will cut up the fibers in the asparagus.  To determine what part of the asparagus woody part to toss, bend the asparagus and where it bends, cut off the end and toss.

Melt the butter in a large pot.  Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes and add the garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and asparagus, stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.  Add the cream, dill, mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  Using a hand blender puree the soup in the pot. Or use a blender or food processor and process the soup in batches. Make sure if you are using a blender, you do not over fill (about ¾ full) and put a cloth hand towel over the top so it does not spill out.

Heat water in a small pot until it boils.  Add the asparagus tips and cook them for 2 minutes. Drain and briefly cool in cold water and then set aside.

Serve the soup garnished with the asparagus tips, eggs slices and sprigs of dill if you used fresh dill.

You can do this on split pea soup or cream of broccoli soup also.   

Second idea:  Eggs in Meatloaf is another idea.  You can tuck several in the center of your favorite meatloaf and when cutting it open, it makes a very nice presentation.  

Third idea:  Pickled beet eggs.  Put a couple of eggs in your pickled beet juice with your pickled beats.  They turn the color of your beets.  Leave them in the juice for several days.  Serve them with the pickled beats. 

Forth idea:  I already shared the recipe for Scotch eggs with you just before St. Patrick’s Day but I’ll save you looking it up.  You have already got the first step of boiling an egg done. 

Makes 4 eggs

1 pound lean ground beef

2 eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cups finely minced onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper

Flour for dusting the eggs

4 hard boiled eggs (Bring to a boil, turn off stove and put on lid and let it sit for 20 minutes)

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Boil your water in a decent sized pot, once the water is boiling, add your room temperature eggs carefully with a spoon and set your timer for 7 minutes.  As soon as your timer goes off, remove the eggs and put them in a bath of cold water.  Crack them and shell them under cold water.

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, one of the beaten eggs, the olive oil, onion, garlic, sage, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Put a small amount of flour into a bowl. Dredge the hard boiled eggs lightly in the flour and then dust off the excess flour with your fingers. Using about 1/4 of the “meat” mixture, pat the mixture around one of the eggs, completely enclosing the egg in the mixture. Set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs and then transfer the plate to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour or more.

Place the second beaten egg and the bread crumbs in two small bowls. Dip the scotch eggs into the beaten egg wash and coat well. Transfer the egg to the bowl of bread crumbs and coat on all sides. Shake off the excess bread crumbs and place the scotch eggs on a nonstick or oiled baking sheet.

Bake the Scotch eggs in a preheated 350 F. degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown (you may want to turn the eggs a few times during cooking to ensure even browning.)

Idea five:  Make a Cobb salad or spinach salad.  You can also use left over Easter ham in place of the chicken.  I've shared my Cobb salad recipe with you also in the past but it is nothing more than making rows of your favorite salad ingredients on a bed of lettuce (eggs, avocado, chicken, shredded cheese, bacon, etc.).  I love this salad.

You can garnish any salad with boiled eggs by slicing them and placing them in your salad.  A spinach salad always calls for boiled eggs.

Hope you had a terrific Easter and have plenty of leftovers for the week.  Be happy and may God bless you and yours.