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We stayed up later than usual last night watching ridiculous “reality” t.v. shows.  We actually did this by choice – as evidenced by the fact that we watched them from our DVR recordings.  We watched and we laughed and we marveled at their stupidity and silliness.  I have begun to realize that the reason I enjoy an occasional reality t.v show is because it makes me feel better about my own life.  We  may argue and fight and my kids may be going through a terrible “I hate you!” phase with each other, but at least we aren’t like them!    I may not be the best housekeeper in the world (and I certainly am not!), but at least my house isn’t that bad!

Note to self:  when you actually compare your house to the house of a hoarder just to make yourself feel better about your pile of dirty dishes, you may be in trouble!

Anyway, we all tend to stay up later during school breaks.  I don’t know why I do that.  I’m still going to be the first one out of bed to let out the dog and start breakfast!

This morning, I awoke early to start my next round of Thanksgiving cooking and baking.  I started getting out all the ingredients for pecan pies and then did an ever-increasing frantic dig through the cabinet where my spices and flavorings live.  No vanilla.  Are you kidding me?  Who runs out of vanilla?  In this house, that’s as bad as running out of toilet paper or Dr. Pepper 10 or – God forbid – CREAM CHEESE!  So I begrudgingly headed to the grocery store where I found a plethora of other last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers.  Some of them were actually buying their turkeys.  Today.  They’re going to have a tough time getting those thawed up in time to cook tomorrow.  I speak from experience, having once thawed a 30-pound turkey overnight in my bathtub because I waited too late to thaw it in the refrigerator.  Nothing says Thanksgiving like a giant turkey bobbing around in your bathtub!  Christopher was little then and he was terrified of it!

Anyway, I got the vanilla and more corn syrup for the pecan pies.  I never think I have it.  I always end up buying way too much – especially since I don’t make pecan pies that often and I don’t use it for much besides that.  I also couldn’t remember if I had bought pie crusts.  I thought I had, but I wasn’t sure.  I found some on sale and grabbed them.

Once home, I started making the pies.  It’s really such an easy recipe.  I don’t know why I don’t make it more often.  Try it here!  After I had them in the oven, I put some eggs on to boil for deviled eggs.  Or devilled eggs.  I’ve looked everywhere and found it spelled both ways.  Who cares?  They’re wonderful!

I made these for Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-law’s house.  One relative there last year tried these and said he could eat these every single day and be a happy man!  That’s a good enough accolade for me!

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

  • 18 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream
  • 3/4 cup of mayonnaise (I use Kraft Light Mayo)
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 2.5-ounce bag of bacon pieces
  • 1 cup of finely-shredded Colby Jack

Boil eggs.  Cool in cold water and peel.  Slice in half lengthwise and place yolks into a bowl.  Use a fork to mash the yolks.  Add sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  Mix with a spoon until smooth and creamy.  Add bacon pieces and cheese and stir to combine.  Spoon or pipe mixture into egg whites.  Keep refrigerated until time to serve.

Well Duh #1:  Classic deviled eggs have mayonnaise and mustard.  The mustard provides just the right acidity and zip to cut through the creamy richness of the yolk mixture.   This recipe uses lemon juice to do that.  Just be sure to measure it.  Too much will give you a huge pucker factor!

Well Duh #2:  As for boiling eggs, you’re on your own.  Google it and try a few methods.  I’ve tried so many methods and the truth is, it all depends on the freshness of your eggs, the temperature of your stovetop, the migration pattern of Canadian geese, the color of bricks on the exterior of your house, and whether or not there’s a full moon.  In other words, it’s a total crap shoot.  I was watching a cooking show the other day and as the chef was saying “This is how you make perfect boiled eggs,” the very first one stuck and ended up looking like a total train wreck.  I seriously snorted over that one – and backed it up seven or eight times to watch it again!  As a general rule, if I’m making them for home, they turn out great and look beautiful.  If I’m taking them somewhere, the shells stick and make the eggs look like they’ve been through a blender!  I got lucky this time!

Well Duh #3:  I always pipe my filling for deviled eggs.  It’s so much easier than spooning it and you don’t run the risk of tearing the whites.  Just fill a gallon-sized zippered bag with the filling mixture, squeeze it all into one corner, and snip off a pretty good-sized tip.  Then just squeeze it into the whites.  If you don’t have a deviled egg container, you’ll want to line a plate with a couple of paper towels and put the whites on top.  Otherwise, you’ll be chasing them all over the plate while you’re trying to fill them!  It’s fun to watch – Michael stood there and laughed at me! – but gets a little frustrating after awhile!

Well Duh #4:  This makes a lot of filling, so your eggs will be overstuffed.  But as Paula Deen once said, “Nothing’s worse than a skimpy deviled egg!”  No worries here.  In fact, I always have some left over and my family fights over who gets to suck it out of the bag.  Yeah, I know.  We’re a little odd.  We embrace it.

Well Duh #5:  I wish someone would invent a tiny little yolk masher.  Like a potato masher, but just for deviled egg yolks.  Okay, that was a whim, not a hint!

Well Duh #6:  These are good for days and make the best leftovers!  Just be sure to refrigerate them.  My kids love deviled eggs and keep sneaking into the kitchen to swipe eggs.  If you want to save some for yourself, hide them!

By the way, while I was peeling the eggs, I went to check on the pecan pies and found that one of the crusts had, I don’t know, exploded and there was pie filling all over the cookie sheet I was baking them on.  There was nothing I could do at that point.  I just closed the oven door and pretended I hadn’t seen it.  It actually baked fine.  I’m not looking forward to trying to scrape that cooked-on sugar off the cookie sheet, but at least the pies are done!

And unlike a certain reality show person, I didn’t forget about them and nearly catch my kitchen on fire.

This time.

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