Happy Easter! (and a recipe for deviled eggs)

Happy Easter, everyone!

We joined friends for brunch and an egg hunt, though Peeper was wary of all the people and the frenetic action at first. She seemed much more into the whole thing once she discovered her eggs contained puffs.

We slacked on getting and filling an Easter basked for Peeper, but I figured that she’s too young to appreciate it or remember so I get a pass. She did participate in hunting eggs with her bestie, though.

For brunch I made rolls that kind of looked like bunnies (some of them turned out better than others, and they looked more rabbit-like before they baked). They tasted good, though!

A word to the wise: When you roll them into balls, make sure there are no seams on top. They’ll split there when they bake and will look a lot less like bunnies.

I also made Easter-dyed deviled eggs (instructions below)—and then ate about a million of them. I learned while making them that it’s incredibly hard to use half your brain to follow a recipe from memory and use the other half to keep an eye on a baby with a penchant for getting into everything. So hard, in fact, that I completely forgot the mustard in the eggs. Eric very kindly scooped out all the insides, added mustard and then refilled the eggs. And he doesn’t even like deviled eggs!

The highlight of the holiday, though, had nothing to do with chocolate or eggs or freaky 6-foot-tall dudes in an Easter Bunny costume. No, Peeper had her best nap day in ages. She took two long, restful, wonderful naps—and this mama took a nap, too!

Perhaps all the excitement wore us out. If that’s the case, I’m organizing an egg hunt every weekend.

Easter-dyed deviled eggs

Ingredients:

1 beet
2 teaspoons vinegar
Dozen eggs
Mayonnaise or vegenaise
Spicy mustard
½ tablespoon diced onion
1 tablespoon diced pepperoncini
Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil and peel the eggs. Shred the beet and place in a large bowl with the vinegar. Add the eggs and cover with two inches of water. Refrigerate for 1-3 hours. (The longer you leave them, the pinker they’ll get.

2. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out the yolks. Mix with enough mayo to get your desired texture (I add about ¼-1/3 cup because I like the filling thicker and less creamy). Add onion, pepperoncini and 2 or 3 good squirts of spicy mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Scoop the yolk mixture back into the eggs. Sprinkle with paprika. Try not to eat them all before you get to brunch.