Recipe Collection: An Abundance of Eggs & The Best Pudding Ever

Backyard chickens are fantastic entertainment.  They run like little old ladies holding their skirts up, they always assume another hen has something better than what they’ve got and chase each other to get it, and they squawk and chatter with extreme personality.

Aside from all this free entertainment, they also provide us with a multitude of fresh eggs.

Because of their more varied and nutritious diet, hens that are allowed to roam and eat what they find produce eggs that are nutritionally superior to store bought eggs.

Eggs from free range hens have

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

(source)

On average, we get one egg per hen per day.  Right now we just have 3 hens, which doesn’t sound like a lot.  But three eggs a day add up quickly.

I frequently find myself looking for recipes that use a lot of eggs.

Today I thought I’d share some of the best ones I’ve found and tend to go back to time and again.

SAVORY

These savory egg dishes not only make a great breakfast, but are perfect for lunch, brunch, or breakfast for dinner nights.  Either can be customized to your taste.  I like adding a package of chopped, cooked spinach that’s been thawed and squeezed to reduce moisture.  You can use any variety of meats:  ham, bacon, or sausage.  And peppers and onions are always tasty, too.  Different types of cheese or herbs will change the flavor as well.

Quiche:  4 eggs 

This quiche is a great freezer recipe if you mix up the filling and store it in a Ziploc bag.  The recipe calls for just 4 eggs, but I’ve been known to throw in an extra one or even two with great results.  For our Mother’s Day Brunch this year, I doubled this and baked it in a 9×13 pan.  I think I used 10 eggs.  We did it with spinach, onion, and cheese.  Delicious!  The pie crusts can be pieced together around the edges to fit.

Get the recipe at Let’s Dish

Egg Bake:  10 eggs

Hearty and filling.  And easy to customize in many ways!

Get the recipe at Taste of Home.

SWEET

French Silk Pie:  4 eggs

For years my kids thought they didn’t like pie…until I made this one.  It’s a family favorite for sure.  Decadent.

Get the recipe at The Pioneer Woman.

Old Fashioned Hot Milk Cake:  4 eggs

This spongy cake makes a great base for strawberry short cake.

Get the recipe at Taste of Home.

Brownie Batter Hot Chocolate:  4 egg yolks

I omit the maple syrup and use regular sugar.  This thick, decadent drink ups the ante on your typical hot cocoa.  Yum!  If you want to spice things up a little, add just the tiniest dash of cayenne pepper.  I do this with the hot chocolate mix I keep on hand in the winter.  I did say tiny.  Don’t forget tiny.

Get the recipe at Heavenly Homemakers.

Eclairs:  6 yolks, 5 whole eggs

Hint:  You can cut a hole in the corner of a Ziploc bag to pipe the dough out if you don’t have piping bags (I don’t either!)

Get the recipe at Let the Baking Begin!

Did you know you can freeze eggs?

I usually end up with extra whites, and have Ziploc bags of them in my freezer pretty much all the time.  A little tip:  label your bag with how many whites are inside.

When my collection of egg whites starts to become a bit overwhelming, I often make one of the following recipes to use them up.

Pavlova:  6 egg whites

We enjoy a British accent around my house.  A lot.  But her accent isn’t the only reason I love Nigella Lawson.  She makes food sing.  If you’re not familiar with a pavlova, I would describe it as a large slightly toasted marshmallow.  It’s traditionally served with whipped cream and fruit.

Get the recipe from Nigella.

Mini-Pavlovas:  8 egg whites

Get the recipe from Nigella.

Angel Food Loaf Cake:  7 egg whites

I thought angel food cake from scratch would be overwhelming, but this recipe is so easy.  My favorite way to serve it is with whipping cream beat with some cocoa powder and a bit of sugar and vanilla.  Mmmm!  I’ll bet if you doubled this, it would fill a traditional angel food tube pan perfectly…and use up 14 egg whites!

Get the recipe at Cooke’s Frontier.

The reason I usually end up with a freezer full of egg whites is because my go-to “use up a lot of eggs” recipe is this pudding.  It’s scrumptious in every variety.

Having grown up with the ease of instant pudding, the idea of making homemade pudding on the stovetop was a bit intimidating.  And it seemed like it would take soooooooo long compared to instant.  If you have any of the same thoughts, let me assure you that this is quite fast and while you do have to wait for it to chill (and you don’t really have to wait, it is luxurious when it’s warm) I promise you it is worth the wait!

Our favorite way to customize this recipe is vanilla white chocolate, but a close second would have to be butterscotch. (Pictured) Did you know that butterscotch pudding is simply making vanilla pudding with brown sugar instead of white?

The recipe is versatile, too.  I’ve upped the yolks called for by one or two with great results.  I would call this a ‘no-fail’ recipe, but I’m sure someone could figure out a way.  In all honesty, I tried about 6 different homemade pudding recipes before tweaking and coming up with this one as the easiest, quickest, and most consistently delicious.  You can print it below.

Whether you have an excess of eggs to use up, or just want to make something delicious, I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Which one is your favorite?

Here’s the delicious pudding recipe: