Deviled Eggs ~ My Mama's Recipe

I hope everyone had a nice Easter Sunday. I got to have it pretty easy this year. We went out to my parent's house for dinner. Typically the task of family meals falls to me. This has been the case for about a decade now. Which I do love, but sometimes it's nice to relax a little. And it was.

This evening I was talking with my best friend and we were reminiscing a little about our Easter traditions growing up. I loved Easter as a girl. Every year, Easter morning I'd wake up to a glorious basket that always had a cute stuffed bunny. There was even one year we got some baby bunnies and another year where we got some baby chicks. (Practical because I grew up on a farm.) Then there was always a frilly dress of some kind, complete with a bonnet to match. There was usually a visit from my grandparents and another cute stuffed bunny. Over the years I even started a bunny collection based on all my Easter bunnies.

Then there was the big dinner. We almost always had, and still have, ham on Easter Sunday.

My mom was (and is) such a great cook, it's a funny thing when the mantle gets passed down to the next generation. She called me a couple of times for cooking advice today. I feel pretty humbled when she comes to me though. I really felt growing up that my mom made the best food in the world. It is a great compliment for me when she comes to me now asking how to make something taste good.

So for the past years that I have been the official maker of the holiday meals, I'm in charge of the ham dinner now and my mom's job is to make deviled eggs. My mom makes, in my opinion the best deviled eggs. They are so simple it's barely even a recipe. Just eggs and mayonnaise pretty much, but so good.

This year we traded and my mom made the dinner and it was my job to bring the deviled eggs. 

Deviled Eggs (Mom's Recipe)

~makes 24~

Ingredients:

12 large eggs

mayonnaise

1/4 t. onion powder (optional)

paprika

Instructions:

1. Place eggs in a large dutch oven, add enough water to cover eggs by about an inch. Cover and bring to a full boil. Remove pan from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and cover eggs again in cold water to cool down. 

2. Peel and halve the eggs. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and mash with a fork to break the yolks up. Add onion powder (if using) and mayonnaise, a tablespoon or two at a time and mix well using a hand mixer. (Using a hand mixer is important to achieve the right, light,creamy consistency.) Keep adding mayonnaise and mixing until the consistency is light and smooth and you like.

3. You can just spoon the egg yolk mixture into the whites (this is how my mom does it). I like to take a large freezer bag, spoon the egg yolk mixture into the bag. Snip the corner of the bag and pipe the egg yolk back into the white. Garnish with paprika.