Deviled eggs are a classic American appetizer, high in Vitamin B-12, riboflavin and Vitamin A, as well as essential amino acids and Omega 3 fatty acid. While high in cholesterol, this recipe can be modified in several ways to significantly reduce the cholesterol in each serving.

Reduced-Cholesterol Versions

• Use only half the egg yolks (you’ll have to add something more to complete the filling mix, such as more mayo, or both mayo and greek yogurt). This reduces cholesterol to 94 mg (or 31% US RDA), depending on your addition to the filling mix. (Using 3 Tbsp mayo + 3 Tbsp Greek yogurt keeps it at 95 mg.
• Fill egg whites with guacamole for “Green eggs and Ham”
• Fill eggs with mashed potatoes instead of yolks
• Use Greek Yogurt instead of mayonnaise. This reduces cholesterol to 187 mg (or 62% US RDA).

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• dijon mustard
• Tabasco sauce
• fresh ground peppercorns (or black pepper)
• fresh chives or green onions
• Hellman’s Mayonnaise with Olive Oil
• Paprika
• Pickle relish (optional)

Deviled Egg Filling & Garnish Variations

• Some people like to add white vinegar or ACV
• You could use either Dijon Mustard or Yellow Mustard, or Both
• Or skip all the extra flavor for plain mayo & pepper
• Garnish with fresh dill weed instead of chive or onion or relish, or mix them up a bit

How to perfectly hard-boil eggs

1. Rinse eggs with warm water and gently place in a medium size pot. Fill the pot with water, just to cover the eggs.
2. Bring it just to a boil on medium-high heat, turn off the burner, cover the pot and let sit for about 12-15 minutes.
3. Rinse eggs under cold water, and peel them. Cool the peeled eggs in the refrigerator, covered, for about 15 minutes.

Making the Deviled Egg Filling

1. Slice the eggs lengthwise and place as many egg yolks in a gallon Ziploc baggie (or into a bowl).
2. Leaving the top of the bag open, smush the yolks well. You can use a rolling pin, or just your hands. (Or use a fork if you’re using a mixing bowl.)
3. Add the mustard, 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce, pepper, mayo, onions or chives, and relish. Mix well.
4. When the mix is as smooth as can be, push some of the mix away from the corner of the baggie and cut a small V-shape in the corner, about 1/4″ wide. Pipe the filling into eggs in small circling motions until all the mix is used up.
5. sprinkle the top of the eggs with paprika, and extra chive, onion or relish.

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Deviled Eggs

Classic Deviled Eggs are the great American appetizer for any occasion.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Resting Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 59kcal

Cost $7

Equipment

• 1 Deviled Egg Tray

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 dashes Tabasco sauce
• ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp green onion
• 3 Tbsp Hellmann's Mayonnaise Dressing with Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Paprika

Instructions

How to Boil Eggs

• Rinse eggs with warm water and gently place in a medium size pot. Fill with water to cover the eggs.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (about 10 – 12 minutes), then turn off heat, cover and let sit for 12 – 15 minutes.
• Rinse under cold water and peel the eggs. Place covered eggs in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Deviled Egg Filling

• Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, and place egg yolks in a Ziploc bag or bowl.
• Mash the eggs well. You can use your hands, or a rolling pin, or a fork if you're using a mixing bowl.
• Add the mayo, mustard, Tabasco, pepper and onion. Mix well.
• Cut a V-shape in the corner of the bag and pipe the filling into the egg white halves.
• Garnish with paprika and extra green onion.

Notes

The post Deviled Eggs appeared first on Food Love Affair.

Today, I tried these for the first time, and they turned out so sweet and tender and juicy – just a perfect cut of beef with some savory flavor. Normally, I like to take my time chewing, to savor the flavor longer, but with 3 sweet steak skewers on my plate, I didn’t take the time. I ate them up. And fast.

I paired these with Riced Cauliflower Fried Rice, for a Chinese-style dinner.

These were really super easy to make: mix the marinade, put them on a skewer, fire up the grill.

Teriyaki beef marinade

• 5 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove

You have to soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before putting them on the grill, or they will catch on fire. Sometimes they still catch on fire anyway.

Slice your top round steak lengthwise, thinly (about 1/2″ strips). I was able to make about 8 skewers from a 1.5 lb boneless round steak. The steak had a small strip of fat running through part of it, so I just cut that part off and made a handful of tiny strips. I could stick a few of them on a skewer. Make sure you have a big, sharp knife for this.

Put the beef strips in a large one-gallon zip-lock freezer bag.

Whisk the marinade in a bowl and pour it over the beef in the bag. Smush it around, getting some of that sugar & garlic in the beef. Then refrigerate at least one hour (or up to 24 hours).

Weave the beef onto the pre-soaked skewers, and preheat the grill to medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then put the beef skewers on the grill.

I used disposable vinyl gloves for this step. Discard the marinade & recycle your plastic baggie.

Grilling Tip

I soaked my skewers in an aluminum 9×13″ cake pan, then dumped the water out and poured a Tbsp of vegetable oil in it, then put the beef skewers in the pan, flipping them to get a little extra oil on the beef so they don’t stick to the grill.

These are really thin strips of beef, so they’ll cook pretty quickly, about 3 minutes per side. Don’t burn them, they were soaked in sugar, so they can easily burn. If they’re still a bit bloody after you make your side dish, or if they get cold, just pop them in the broiler on low for 5 minutes, with the oven door open a crack. This will add a little extra cook, and reheat them quickly.

My husband likes to slide them off the skewer into his bowl, I just like to gnaw it off the stick by itself. You can put your teriyaki beef on a pita with some grilled veggies or a fresh lettuce blend, but the teriyaki beef flavor is typically paired with a Chinese dish, like steamed broccoli & rice or a stir-fry with bell peppers or snow peas.

Ways to eat teriyaki beef

• Over Cauliflower Rice
• With Broccoli & Bell Peppers
• Over white or brown rice
• With Snow Peas & Broccoli
• Over Ramen Noodles
• Garnished with Sesame Seed
• With Water Chestnuts, Carrots & Green Onions
• Try it Hawaiian-style with Pineapple

Other Beef Cuts for Teriyaki Beef Skewers

• Flank Steak or Skirt Steak
• Sirloin
• Top Round
• Chicken

The meat has to be a lean meat, and sliced across the grain.

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Teriyaki Beef Skewers

Tender, sweet Chinese beef skewers are an awesome dinner, appetizer and cookout side.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Marinade & Soak 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 21 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 340kcal

Cost $8

Equipment

• Bamboo skewers
• Disposable vinyl gloves

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb top round steak cut into ½" slices
• 5 Tbsp light brown sugar
• ¼ c soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (Canola)
• 1 garlic clove chopped

Instructions

• Whisk brown sugar, soy sauce, water, vegetable oil and garlic in a bowl.
• Put the steak slices in a one-gallon zip-lock freezer bag, then pour the marinade over the beef. Refrigerate at least one hour.
• Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.
• Thread the beef onto the skewers and preheat the grill on medium.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cook skewers about 3 minutes per side.

Notes

The post Teriyaki Beef Skewers appeared first on Food Love Affair.

Ingredients

• ground beef
• breadcrumbs
• egg
• milk
• parmesan cheese
• parsley
• oregano
• ketchup
• beer

Meatball Prep

Mix all ingredients except ketchup & beer; roll into Tablespoon-size meatballs & place in a 9×12 baking dish. (I made these a bit larger using my ice cream scoop.)

Par-Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Combine the beer & ketchup in the crockpot on high.

When you place the meatballs in the crockpot, reduce cooking heat to low.

Cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3. Longer cook time results in a juicier meatball.

Crock Pot Tips

Remember that you don’t need a crock pot, you can just slow cook the meatballs in a large pot on the stove. Bring the heat up to boiling, reduce heat to really low, and simmer about 6 hours, stirring occasionally.

For the breadcrumbs, you can make your own, or use Panko bread crumbs, but for the tastiest meatballs (or meatloaf), I recommend an Italian-style breadcrumb for the extra seasoning.

Regarding beer for cooking:

There will be little alcohol content, as having 3-4 meatballs will be like sharing a bottle of beer with 6 people, but you can use a non-alcoholic lager. I always cook with Heineken for the enhanced flavor of the recipe.

Servings: While the recipe is calculated to serve 6 people, at 3.3 meatballs each, most people will only eat about two or three, so these 20 meatballs can serve 8-10 carnivores.

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Crock Pot Beer Meatballs

These soft, juicy meatballs are a party hit!

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Calories 359kcal

Cost $15

Equipment

• crock pot

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 c breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• ½ c Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 T parsley
• 1 t oregano
• ¼ c milk
• 1 12-oz bottle of Heineken
• 1 16-oz bottle of ketchup

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F
• Mix hamburger, breadcrumbs, egg, seasonings & milk until smooth.
• Roll about 20 tablespoon-sized meatballs, plase them into a glass 9×12 baking dish and bake them for 20 minutes. This reduces the fat by cooking most of the grease out, and helps hold the meatballs together during the slow cooking process.
• Mix ketchup and beer in crock pot and begin to heat on high.
• Place the par-baked meatballs in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours. When cooked on high, the meatballs tend to become more firm.

Notes

The post Crock Pot Beer Meatballs appeared first on Food Love Affair.

You can double the recipe for more people, but I usually eat only about 10 (or the equivalent of one burrito size tortilla shell).

Simple Ingredients

• cream cheese
• cheddar
• sour cream
• salsa (inside or on the side)
• green onion
• garlic powder
• seasoned salt
• tortilla shells

I ran out of burrito-sized tortilla shells today, so I used my bulk of Fajita shells for smaller roll-ups.

For the larger shells, I didn’t spread it all the way to the edge because when you roll up the pinwheel, some of it will push, completing the spread.

Easy instructions

• Mix
• Spread
• Roll-up
• Wrap

These tortilla roll-ups are super fun to make with the kids! (Pinwheels always are – just make sure you do the slicing with a serrated knife.)

Using Fajita shells instead of burrito shells makes a slightly smaller pinwheel, but they turned out just fine.

Refrigerate overnight, then slice and serve. You’ll have “end pieces”, which will have less cream cheese filling, but you can dip them in salsa and they’re just great! Like little taquitos, but with cheese and not deep fried.

This recipe is based on a Taste of Home appetizer, modified for simplicity and servings.

Alterations:

• add diced black olives
• leave the salsa on the side for dipping
• use diced red bell pepper & celery instead of green onions and salsa
• try ranch dressing mix instead of garlic powder & seasoned salt
• chives often make better flavor than green onions, though they cost a little more
• add sun-dried tomatoes

Pinwheel tips

Other recipes for pinwheels call for shorter cooling time because their tortilla gets soggy – I did not have any issues. I use Mission tortilla shells, or La Banderita burrito shells.

Make sure your salsa is chunky. I think this helps minimize moisture.

The sour cream brand doesn’t really matter, just make sure you don’t get something on discount or fat-free (they tend to be runny). You want it thick and rich.

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Easy Party Pinwheels

Cream cheese tortilla roll-ups are a great party snack for kids

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 394kcal

Cost $4

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
• ⅓ c sour cream
• ¼ c chunky salsa
• ½ c green onions, chopped
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t seasoned salt
• 3 flour tortilla shells, 10"

Instructions

• Blend cream cheese, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Add salsa, green onions and seasoning to your taste. Mix well to combine.
• Spread across tortilla to the edge & roll the tortilla tight. wrap in plastic wrap, twisting ends to seal. Refrigerate overnight.
• Unwrap and slice into ¾" slices. Serve immediately.

Notes

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27.9g	36%
Saturated Fat 17g	85%
Cholesterol 73mg	24%
Sodium 670mg	29%
Total Carbohydrate 22.9g	8%
Dietary Fiber 0.6g	2%
Total Sugars 1.7g
Protein 13.6g
Vitamin D 3mcg	17%
Calcium 348mg	27%
Iron 2mg	12%
Potassium 179mg	4%

The post Easy Party Pinwheels appeared first on Food Love Affair.

I love tomatoes. I love fresh tomato salsa.

I love tomato sandwiches. My mother hates tomatoes. Isn’t that weird? So, if she never really ate them, how did I fall in love with this plump, juicy fruit? We didn’t have a garden, but when I went to my friends house, she invited me to pick a tomato and bite right into it. You know what I’m talking about.

It’s funny how at some Mexican restaurants, they will call it “chunky salsa”, or “medium salsa”, when we all know it’s “Pico”! Pico de gallo is fresh tomato salsa (vs. a traditional, mild, blended salsa, or a chile-based salsa).

The rules are simple:

1. chop some tomatoes and onions into bite-size pieces (so you can get as many pieces on your tortilla chip as possible)
2. dice some jalapenos or Serrano peppers
3. obliterate some cilantro leaves
4. squeeze a lime into the mix
5. top with salt
6. mix
7. taste-test

Alterations

For less hotness, you should seed the peppers first, and cut them into larger pieces, so you can see them and maneuver your chip around them, if you’re afraid.

If they don’t scare you, leave the seeds in and dice them really small, so the hot juices blend more into your salsa bowl. Or, use Serrano peppers instead of jalapeno. Serrano peppers rank between 5,000 – 15,000 Scoville units, whereas the mild jalapeno ranks between 2 – 5K.

Some say leave the tomato seeds in, some say to seed the tomatoes. I think it depends on the season of the tomato: if they’re fresh and firm, you can seed the tomatoes, or just seed half of them to reduce the tomato juice that pools at the bottom of your salsa bowl. If they’re extra ripe and juicy, you might opt to leave much of that juice out. You don’t want a sloppy, sloshy salsa, you want it crisp, chunky and fresh.

First, I learned from Ree Drummond, and while I can no longer find her pico de gallo post, I think that her friend seeded the tomatoes but didn’t seed the jalapenos.

But then, my lovely friend bought me the book “Eat Mexico” for my birthday, and I felt empowered – no more trying to copycat the Mexican restaurant when I have an excellent and accurate source for “authentic” Mexican cuisine.

Try this on Taco night with my taco seasoning, or use any leftovers (as if) in a Southwest Veggie Wrap.

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Pico De Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa)

Authentic Mexican Salsa

Course Appetizer, Sauce, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 cups

Calories 28kcal

Cost $8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs roma tomatoes diced
• ½ white onion coarsely chopped
• 10 stems cilantro chopped
• 3 jalapenos or serrano peppers cut into half-moons, with seeds
• ½ lime juice
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Put tomatoes, onion, cilantro and chiles in a bowl.
• Squeeze the juice from ½ a lime into the bowl and mix well. Season with salt to taste.

Notes

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.3g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 26mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 6.2g	2%
Dietary Fiber 1.9g	7%
Total Sugars 3.8g
Protein 1.3g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 16mg	1%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 318mg	7%

The post Pico De Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa) appeared first on Food Love Affair.

Recently rebranded, this recipe serves your Game of Thrones party, too! Just call them “Chicken Littlefingers” – hehe, get it? Littlefinger?

Also check out my other GOT recipes, like “Theon’s Favorite Toy in a Blanket” (based on the Buzzfeed recipe).

Of course, you need a dipping sauce, and we’ve got you covered! A Better-than-Wendy’s Honey Mustard Sauce to complement your mild or medium-hot buffalo wings.

Here’s another Wendy’s secret: The longer the spicy chicken sits, the hotter it gets! This is because the flavor seeps deep into the chicken over time. So if you love Wendy’s spicy chicken, go late at night, or ask for one that’s not so fresh. They’re still tender, as long as they’re not too old – over an hour and the edges of the chicken breast start to get a little dry. Food safety rules require the chicken to be tossed in the trash after an hour.

The Steps

Assemble your ingredients: chicken, eggs, flour, milk and Frank’s.

You should probably plug in your deep fryer or start heating up your pan of canola or vegetable oil.

Cut up your chicken into 1″ strips and marinade it in a baggie with 1/2 bottle of Frank’s RedHot. Beat your eggs with some milk, and put some flour into a bowl.

The process is a simple sequence of events: dip in flour, coat with egg, flour again and drop it in the frying oil.

Don’t use your fingers!

I find it easier to use one plate for the raw, coated chicken and a second plate with paper towels for the fried chicken. Make sure your cooking oil maintains a temperature of around 350° Fahrenheit during your frying process.

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Not-So-Spicy Buffalo Wings

An easy, customizable buffalo wing recipe for your party, appetizer or snack.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 47 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 382kcal

Cost $6

Equipment

• Deep fryer

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, about 4 oz each
• 1 12-oz. bottle of Frank's RedHot Original Sauce
• 2 c flour
• 1 egg
• 1 dash milk

Instructions

• Cut up frozen chicken breast into 1" pieces or strips. I find it easier to let them partially thaw, so my hands don't freeze in the process.
• Coat chicken with 1/2 the bottle of Frank's RedHot, and soak for 20 minutes in a baggie. This helps with the defrosting as well.
• Put 1 c. flour each into two regular sized cereal bowls.
• Beat one egg with milk in another small bowl. (You might need another egg, depending on the coverage for each batch. If you run out, just beat another egg with a dash of milk to refill that same bowl.)
• Coat chicken with flour, then egg, then flour again. For next-level hot wings, coat with Frank's RedHot after the second coat of flour.
• Deep fry 6 minutes.

Alterations

• To break up in batches for different levels of hot, cut up the first chicken breast and make that batch low-level hot first.

Notes

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7.1g	9%
Saturated Fat 1.9g	10%
Cholesterol 106mg	35%
Sodium 1400mg	61%
Total Carbohydrate 47.8g	17%
Dietary Fiber 1.7g	6%
Total Sugars 0.3g
Protein 29g
Vitamin D 4mcg	19%
Calcium 26mg	2%
Iron 4mg	22%
Potassium 259mg	6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by

These nutrition facts are built using “72 tsp” of Frank’s RedHot in the recipe, but much of it gets leftover in the baggie for soaking, and the bowl, if dipping before frying.

Also note that nutrition values will vary based on your frying oil. We use Canola oil or Vegetable oil, or a combination of the two.

The post Not-So-Spicy Buffalo Wings appeared first on Food Love Affair.

I absolutely love Wendy’s Honey Mustard Sauce – but, wait! There’s two different Honey Mustard Sauces! There’s the one that goes on the grilled chicken sandwich and then the one that your dip your nuggets into. Both are very different – the sandwich sauce is very smooth, with a slightly more Dijon flavor (it was also thick and sticky, so clearly heavy on the honey), and the dipping sauce is a bit on the spicy side (in terms of flavor, rather than heat).

This recipe is a bit of both – a crossover/mashup, if you will. It has that smooth sweetness, as well as a bit more flavor than the sandwich sauce.

Paired with my Not-So-Spicy Buffalo Wings, the sweet spicy goodness comes home to Janet’s (not Wendy’s).

This makes a great side dish or appetizer for a Game of Thrones themed party, with my “Chicken Littlefingers”.

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Honey Mustard Sauce

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce (or Sandwich Sauce)

Course Dip, Sauce

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 98kcal

Cost $2

Ingredients

• ¼ c Hellmann's Olive Oil Mayonnaise Dressing
• 2 T Yellow mustard, prepared (French's)
• 2 T organic Dijon mustard
• 3 T Honey
• ½ t Lemon juice
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Instructions

• Combine ingredients and refrigerate (overnight is best).

Notes

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4.3g	6%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 364mg	16%
Total Carbohydrate 15.4g	6%
Dietary Fiber 0.3g	1%
Total Sugars 13g
Protein 0.4g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 6mg	0%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 20mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Recipe analyzed by

The post Honey Mustard Sauce appeared first on Food Love Affair.

We changed it from brats to hot dogs to make the puff pastry go much further and used BBQ sauce for dipping. We like Stubb’s but you could try our homemade BBQ Sauce recipe.

The ingredients are simple: hot dogs, puff pastry sheets, cheddar cheese, egg, sesame seed.

I just cut through the puff pastry with a pizza slicer to make 8 squares.

But somehow I always forget that “egg wash” means to add some water to your beaten egg.

I think they still turned out perfectly puffy and golden.

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Theon’s Favorite Toy in a Blanket

Pigs in a Blanket for your GOT party!

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 383kcal

Cost $15

Ingredients

• 8 hot dogs (we like Nathan's Franks)
• 2 puff pastry sheets
• 8 slices of cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• sesame seeds
• coarse kosher salt (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400° F
• (optional) Boil hot dogs according to package instruction, or for pre-cooked brats, pan-sear until brown.
• Divide the puff pastry in half, and then halve it again. Place cheese in the middle of each pastry diagonally and place the hot dog (or bratwurst) on top.
• Beat the egg with a bit of water to make an egg wash.
• Wet the edges of the pastry with some water and fold each sheet over the sausage. Seal with a fork and brush each pocket with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seed and kosher salt (optional).
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Serve with BBQ sauce.

Notes

The post Theon’s Favorite Toy in a Blanket appeared first on Food Love Affair.