Red, White, and Bleu Deviled Eggs

With the long July 4th holiday around the corner, my Pinterest is blowing up with patriotic, color-coordinated recipe suggestions to create for the summer season's best holiday. What's on your menu this weekend? Burgers? Brats? Pasta salad? Deviled eggs? Is it possible to keep any classic cookout foods in patriotic theme?

As it turns out, it is!

Deviled eggs: the ever-popular, crowd-pleasing cornerstone of summer cookouts and gatherings. I'm willing to bet a lot of you have probably enjoyed them a few times already this summer. I'm also willing to bet that you might not have tried these Red, White, and Bleu Deviled Eggs.

Instead of neatly skewering blueberries and strawberries, you can easily show your USA pride by adding red chipotle peppers and to the yolk mix (which goes inside the hollow of a white hard-boiled egg) and topping with bleu cheese and red bacon.

Alright, so I'm probably maybe definitely stretching it with the colors. :o) But, trust me when I say these are a delicious break from traditional, creamy deviled eggs.

Happy Independence Day, friends!

---

Chipotle Deviled Eggs with Bacon and Bleu Cheese

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can (add more to reach desired taste)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 slice bacon, roughly chopped
• Smoked paprika for garnish
• Crumbled gorgonzola or bleu cheese for garnish

1. Cut hard-boiled eggs in half.  Remove yolks and add to a small mixing bowl and arrange egg whites hollow side up on a serving plate.

2. Mash yolks into a fine crumble with a fork. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, chipotle peppers/sauce, lemon juice, and garlic powder and mix well. Add salt and pepper to mixture if desired.

3. Evenly disperse the yolk mixture into the egg whites, filling the hollows as much as possible. Top with cheese and small bacon piece.

4. Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Allow to chill for an hour in the refrigerator before serving.