Egg-stra Eggs?

This morning I decided to make Deviled Eggs with some of the week-old eggs in the fridge.  The "hubbs" takes them to work on occasion, and they get devoured in a very short time.  Sometimes his co-workers order them from me - he'll walk in the door and say "I've got an order for De-VILED eggs for you"!

Boiling Eggs

I'll share my recipe today - it's a little different than most, but every bit as tasty!  Great for a picnic or potluck, and wonderful for the holiday weekend!

 Deviled Eggs

1.)  Put 6 whole eggs in a pot covered with cold water.  Heat to a boil, cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and drain off the hot water.  Rinse the eggs, then fill the pot with cold water (you can add ice cubes to it if you wish), to cool them.  When they are cool, peel off the shells.
2.)  In medium size bowl, mix 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 Cup sour cream, 1 tsp horse radish sauce, 1/2 tsp. mustard, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Cut the eggs in half lengthwise, and pop the yolks into the bowl with the mayonnaise and other ingredients, mashing and mixing well.  Using a pastry bag, or spoon, fill the halved eggs with the mixture, sprinkling each egg with paprika or cayenne.  Serve chilled.

TIP:  Hard boiled eggs peel much better when they're about a week old - then the whites don't break off in chunks as the shells are removed.

Welcome to Our Little Place in the Woods!

Since I write quite a bit about my chickens, perhaps some might have the impression that we live on a farm.  WRONG!  We actually SOLD the farm about 6 years ago and bought some acreage in a woods with trees as tall as 70 ft. or better.  Our house is well off the road and up a long lane in a clearing.  When we moved here, we had only one hen, named Tina.  She was a trick hen - played  concert piano!  Sadly she passed away 3 years ago, and that's when the HUBBS said "...why don't you get another hen?"....and I came home with 6 baby pullets!!!  We're up to 11 now, and that's just fine with me!  We have eggs to eat and eggs to sell!

In the woods we've seen deer, wild turkey, fox, coyote, and one night there was even something that could have been a black bear - we don't know for sure.  We saw claw marks on a tree, and the animals were acting strange that evening.  I keep my hens in 2 dog runs that are connected together to form one large one.  They stay there during the day until all the eggs have been accounted for, then towards evening, we let them roam for a couple hours while we're home to keep an eye on them.  As it begins to turn dark, I call them in to their enclosure to roost for the night.  They love treats to fill their crops before bedtime, and so they get scratch grains, bread scraps, or veggies.  If they ignore those treats and still want to linger on the lawn, I bring out the secret weapon - COTTAGE CHEESE!!!  (That always works, in a pinch!)