Deviled Eggs with Jalapenos

Deviled eggs are always a hit and those who love them never get tired of these creamy, satisfying, protein-packed wonders.  One might think “Why mess with perfection?” but I realized that a variation on a theme can be a wonderful thing after attending a recent party at my friend Andrea’s that featured finely diced jalapeno peppers mixed into the deviled eggs.  Who woulda thunk it?  Not me — until I had my first bite.  I was hooked!

Don’t like things too spicy?  No worries.  You can use the mild jalapenos, rather than medium or hot ones!  Grab the eggs from the hen house and get started!

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, sliced in half
• Plus, for the filling you will need mayonnaise, Splenda or sugar (if you like it sweet), a jar of pickled jalapenos, yellow mustard, and one or two fresh jalapenos, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)

Filling:

FIRST, take the yolks out of each hard-boiled egg and place all the yolks in a small bowl.  I like to mash them all with a fork to begin.  Then mix the yolks with the following:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 or 3 tsp. of Splenda or sugar (unless you don’t like sweet deviled eggs, in which case you case omit the sweetener)
• 2 tbsp. diced pickled jalapenos (from a jar — and you can buy tame or hot, as you like)
• 1 tsp. juice from the jar of pickled jalapenos
• Yellow mustard, to taste (I usually use about a teaspoon)

My friend CC prefers to put all her deviled egg ingredients into a baggie and mush them up there.  With her method, you can simply cut the corner off the baggie and squirt the filling into the eggs.  Try it!

If I were making deviled eggs to take to a gathering, I would probably make some that were without jalapenos and some with, marking the ones that have the peppers by placing a slice of pepper on top — or at least a few pieces of the diced pickled variety.  Why?  Because I put myself in the shoes of the other person and some folks don’t like surprises.  I still have nightmares from when someone put minced clams in deviled eggs.  I hope they were prosecuted for that crime against side dishes.  Heinous!  There were no clues to alert me to what I was about to bite into, and that’s just wrong.