Blue Deviled Eggs

Friends Chuck and Merry
(no, those aren't eggs--different party!)

By definition "blue deviled" is an archaic term meaning sad and dreary, but these eggs are anything but! My friends Chuck and Merry introduced me to these, and now I'm hooked. There are other recipes online that call for using blue cheese and mayonnaise, and if you've got some blue cheese on hand, by all means add some, but my version uses a good-quality refrigerated blue cheese salad dressing (such as Lighthouse). My friends' version included salad shrimp and also water chestnuts for  a little "crunch," but I've listed these as optional ingredients, since not everyone likes (or can eat) shellfish, and some people may feel the same way about water chestnuts.

Blue Deviled Eggs

12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
2 or 3 green onions, finely sliced
About 1/2 cup Blue Cheese dressing
1 tsp Dijon or Stone Ground Mustard (adds a little "kick," but can be omitted)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
optional: Crumbled Blue Cheese
optional: cooked Salad Shrimp, finely chopped

optional: About 4 or 5 canned Water Chestnuts, finely minced OR a little finely minced Jicama (which is what my friends add when they are in Mexico)

Place egg yolks in medium bowl and mash with a fork. Add green onions, Blue Cheese dressing, seasonings and other optional ingredients as desired. Spoon or pipe mixture into egg white halves and refrigerate until serving. Can garnish each half with a little piece of green onion and/or a shrimp (which is probably a good idea if you're including them, as it lets people with shellfish allergies know what is in them).

Gluten Free Beefy Dog Biscuits

Cousin Becky with Baxter & Sophie
at Gleneden Beach, August 2013

Since I've learned that some dogs are sensitive to gluten, I've changed some of the ingredients in the recipe I posted last year to make this gluten-free version. Any dog will love this version!

Gluten free 
Beefy Dog Biscuits

1 cup ground beef

1 cup beef or chicken broth

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 cups rice flour

2 cup cornmeal

1 cup oat bran

1 tsp salt

Using the paddle blade of a stand mixer stir the ground beef, broth, vegetable oil and eggs together on a low setting until well mixed. Stir the dry ingredients in a bowl then mix them into the wet ingredients. Pat or roll the mixture out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut to biscuit size. Bake on foil-lined cookie sheets at 350 F for 25 to 35 minutes until solid and slightly crispy. When cool, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes: You can usually purchase smaller amounts of rice flour, cornmeal and oat bran in the bulk foods section of the grocery. 

I’ve found it easiest to just pat the “dough” out on a piece of waxed butcher paper or another cookie sheet, then use cookie cutters near the edges of the dough and just slide it away from the rest of the dough (peel any excess from around the biscuits after cutting). Transfer the biscuits to the cookie sheets and re-pat the dough to cut more.

This recipe is easiest using a large “stand” mixer, but can be mixed by hand using a large wooden spoon and plenty of “elbow grease.”