Egg Recipes : Bring To Favorite Outdoor Activities

Add another sensation to the sound of nature, the fragrance of foliage, and the comfortable outdoor furniture. Put great taste into the mix and you have a virtually perfect environment. Share the love, not to mention the good food! There is a great sense of satisfaction that comes for you when you have a relaxing and alluring backyard, and sharing your happiness is sometimes a great idea! Throw a party, have family members over for a barbecue – do whatever you like when you have a great backyard to enjoy.

Below I will mention a few, distinctive hardboiled egg recipes for your outdoor parties, picnics and other kinds of get-togethers. If you have an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit or barbeque grill you may consider some of these recipes for at-home, outdoor entertainment. The highlight of many occasions, or at least a significant part of the event (virtually never excluded in America) is the food. Despite the fact that we as a nation are growing more and more concerned about our health and good eating habits, we always want to have a nice selection of snacks on the side. This article will also introduce you to some healthier (but just as delicious) foods to cook and serve at outdoor (or even indoor) special events.

First we will start with deviled eggs, an incredibly popular outdoor treat. Popular at poolside parties, barbeque's, pot-luck events, picnics and much, much more, deviled eggs are delicious. To make the proposition even tastier, I have two recipes for you. One is a less healthy deviled egg recipe for you, and the other is a lighter, healthier version of deviled eggs. Your guests will love to have the option, because some people especially when trying to loose weight – have few options in such circumstances.

Mamma’s Deviled Eggs
This recipe makes twelve deviled eggs altogether, in halves, lengthwise. Therefore, if you choose, you can use the other six eggs in the carton to make the lighter version of deviled eggs.

You will need the following items before you begin:

6 eggs
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of mustard
3 tablespoons of fried, real bacon bits
Chives (optional)
Paprika (optional)

The procedure is simple. First you hard cook the six eggs and let them chill. Peel the eggs. Slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Remove the yolks. Prepare the yolks for mixture by whipping them up. It is simpler to create a more creamy mix once you add the mayonnaise and mustard. Mix the bacon bits in with the mixture. Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, and / or paprika to taste. Add a spoonful of the mixture into each of the deviled eggs. For appearance and / or presentation, garnish your deviled eggs with chives. You can also choose to garnish with the bacon bits instead of using them in the deviled egg mixture. Some people also prefer to use a kind of spicy mustard instead of regular mustard.

A delicious as well as a beautiful treat to add to any occasion is the deviled egg tray. Whether you are serving a meal, or simply offering appetizers, these quite traditional snacks are perfect for any outdoor occasion. On the lighter side, you may consider making an alternative and healthier type of deviled eggs for your guests to choose from. Here are the ingredients you will need for the lighter recipe:

New Light Deviled Eggs
This recipe actually calls for 8 eggs. Therefore, if you purchase a carton of eggs for the party you will need a couple extra . . . or you will need to alter the recipe a bit. Many cooks, such as my self and my mother and her mother before her, like to make their own little alterations to popular recipes. You will need the following ingredients for this new, light deviled eggs recipe:

8 eggs
1/3 cup of fat free, plain yogurt
1/3 light mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of pickle relish
1 teaspoon of dried, ground mustard
Paprika (optional)

Take 8 hardboiled eggs chilled. Peel the eggs in halves. Extract the egg yolks. Combine all ingredients together, with the exception of the paprika. Spoon the mixture into the halved, hardboiled egg whites. Sprinkle paprika over the eggs, adding spice and a lovely presentation as well. They are still delicious, and they are definitely still deviled eggs. This great new recipe offers the wonderful taste with about half of the fat and less calories than those you will consume by eating most other kinds of deviled eggs.

You will love the taste of your food, and you will love the enjoyment you get from your outdoor furniture, landscaping and overall design even more with great tastes like traditional or distinctive hardboiled egg recipes. From entrées to side dishes, outdoor events such as picnics or barbecue get-togethers require excellent food to enhance the fun and the ambiance of the occasion. There are several recipes for pot-luck get-togethers, outdoor barbeque's and outdoor home parties. Improve it all with the sweet taste of great foods, the outdoors scenery, the good times that your friends and family members will always remember.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching, gardening, and fashion. For more of her articles on backyard furniture and festivities (and recipes!), please visit outdoorgardenfurniture.net, supplier of high quality Garden Furniture and Garden Umbrellas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Clarke

Try Combine Gourmet Foods and Recipes

An attractive gift box or basket filled to overflowing with wonderful specialty foods is a great gift for your favorite gourmet; but why not add a unique touch by including a collection of recipes along with the basket?

Gift baskets can focus on gourmet breakfast items, like pancake and waffle mixes, jams, and syrups, gourmet cooking items like vinegars and oils, or dessert ingredients such as pie fillings. Whatever ingredients you choose, they can be used in an astonishing number of different recipes.

You may have some of your own favorite recipes that can integrate one or more items from the gift box or basket; if not, look through women’s magazines or search the Internet for recipes which require one of your food items as an ingredient.

Some gourmet food companies offer recipes along with their specialty foods, sometimes incorporating them in some unusual and surprising ways. Stonewall Kitchen offers a variety of fine food items; their website also offers a whole collection of recipes, which you can print onto your own cards, emphasizing different foods. Searching their recipe database for Apple Cranberry Chutney, for instance, offers fifteen different recipes, from appetizers and hors d’oeuvres to beverages and desserts, from main dishes to soups and salads.

Their Free Form Apple Tart with Apple Cranberry Chutney combines apples, vanilla, lemon and nutmeg with Stonewall Kitchens popular chutney and puts it in a tart shell for a deliciously distinctive dessert. Another product, their chocolate peanut butter sauce, offers two great dessert recipes, Chocoate Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream.Plan a Dinner Around a Special RecipePlan a get-together with family and friends with a special gourmet recipe as the star attraction. Garlic Rosemary Chicken Skewers are created using Stonewall Kitchen’s Garlic Rosemary Citrus Sauce; you might also want to add a simple dessert like Lemon Pistachio Cookies, with Stonewall Kitchen White Chocolate Orange Sauce.A nice little gift for your dinner guests would be a jar or bottle of the featured ingredient; be sure you attach the recipe to the product with a decorative ribbon. Gift Baskets Make Great Fund RaisersIf your favorite nonprofit organization is planning a fund raiser, consider donating a lavish gift basket to be raffled off; make sure you tuck a collection of recipes into the basket, one or two for each product, plus information on how the lucky winner can get more of his or her favorite foods.There are an infinite number of ways you can extend the usefulness of a specialty food item or gourmet gift basket; use the ones in this article, or come up with your own, based on your personal knowledge of the recipient’s own favorites. Either way, your gift will be much appreciated as the loving gesture it is.

About The Author

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire, who has written numerous articles for the Internet and for local and regional publications. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

How To Make A Better Salad

By Stephanie Manley

Salads are a wonderful addition to your diet. Salads can be light and refreshing to heavier and something you can make a meal out of. So often salads have been neglected and have simply been some iceberg lettuce and then chopped with a cherry tomato or two. Salads can be much more complex, if you make a few changes to building a salad. We are going to look at three areas of building a salad, the greens, the toppings, and then salad dressings.

By changing up what you put in a salad you can make a very large difference in what you get out of them. Consider not using iceberg lettuce, or changing some of it out with baby spinach, red leaf lettuce, radicco, butter lettuce, or what ever your local market may have in season. You may want to consider adding fresh green herbs to your lettuce mix, cilantro, and flat leaf parsley make a nice addition to your basic salad green base.

Before adding the dressing consider adding unique ingredients like beans such as garbanzo beans, red beans, or even black beans to a salad. Nuts can be added for great flavor and texture. Soy nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, are just a few of the nuts you may want to try. Look in your vegetable drawer or even your refrigerator and see what you have available. Left over roast beef, or even chicken can be added, as well as any grilled vegetables, or other bits of carrot, celery, onion, that you have laying around as well. Don’t rule out fresh fruit either, chopped pears, apples, or even orange segments can add a tasty variation to a salad.

Salads are never complete without being topped with a salad dressing. Have you ever considered making your own? Oil and vinegar dressings are very easy to make. Here is an example of a plain oil and vinegar dressing.

Oil and Vinegar Dressing
2/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Regina wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Add Olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper into a container, and shake well before serving. This will keep for a couple of weeks.

As you can see the possibilities for a salad are really endless. By changing out the salad greens, you can enhance the flavor and texture of your salad. Adding different ingredients such as nuts, left over meats, vegetables, and even fruit can really add an extra kick. When it comes to salad dressings, consider making your own, and you can add other spices and herbs to customize a special blend that you enjoy. You can even save money by making your own salad dressings. So the next time you make a salad consider changing up a few things and enjoy a new tasty salad.

She is the editor for CopyKat recipes - you have tried it in the restaurant, now make it at home. http://www.copykat.com