Last-Minute Meals: Egg Salad on Sourdough

Maybe you have had “one of those days” recently…. The kind where nothing seems to go well. Today that was me… exhausted, frustrated, and sad. It wasn’t even 7 am and I was worn out from having done battle with my 2 year old (I lost in every sense of the word). Meanwhile, the baby won’t let me put her down and there is pee on the rug, blood in my hair, and snot on the walls. I won’t go any further in case the situation is catching. Anyway, it’s a safe bet that on this type of day, I will forget that dinner generally occurs at 5:30 until at least 5:15 or so. Gentle reader, I hope this doesn’t sound familiar to you.

Regardless of how you got to this point, you can get through it! The key to providing a nutritious, wholesome plate of food at the very last minute is actually fairly simple: Expect that you are going to be in this situation at some point, and set yourself up for success. There are several staples that I keep on hand that can be used for snacks, surprise company, bad days, or other minor emergencies, such as good quality jarred olives, Genoa salami, cheeses, bread or crackers, ingredients for hummus, and importantly for today: hard boiled eggs.

Hard boiled eggs are wonderful to have in your refrigerator because they are an excellent source of protein and an inexpensive and delicious source at that. If you are looking to eat good quality food, cut grocery costs by eating less meat, and build a functional and efficient store of food, buy the best eggs you can find! I buy three to four dozen per week, and I steam cook a dozen at a time, sometimes two. I find that the more I keep on hand, the more we need!

Fortunately for me I also had some stale homemade bread. Since one of my favorite uses for stale bread is open-faced sandwiches with a substantial, wet filling, egg salad came immediately to mind. It is easy and quick to make, contains flexible and inexpensive ingredients, and is very child-friendly. If you don’t have any bread or don’t eat bread, don’t worry. I have also served this meal on leftover greens, pitas, fajita wraps, crackers or plain old plates. 🙂

You will need some form of an onion, something crunchy, and if possible, something fresh and green- like parsley or basil. My egg salad recipe changes regularly, depending entirely on what fresh items I have in the refrigerator. This is what it looked like today:

Autumn Egg Salad (5-10 minutes preparation time, assuming your eggs are already cooked.)
-7 Hard boiled eggs, cooled and chopped
-1/3 cup mayonnaise
-1 Tablespoon prepared mustard (I happened to have a jar of jalapeno mustard on hand)
-1 tablespoon bottled or fresh lemon juice (I have used bottled lime juice in a pinch!)
-1 medium unpeeled apple, chopped
-½ onion, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the hard boiled eggs, onion, and apple.

Gently mix all ingredients in a bowl.

If you serve this meal on stale bread, I highly recommend toasting your bread first. You won’t even notice that the bread is stale, and the crunch of the toast is so delicious with this creamy egg salad. I couldn’t find my toaster so I had to toast it in a pan. Make do with what you have, friends and get as much sleep as possible! 😉

If you are purchasing bread to use with Autumn Egg Salad, take it from me and buy sourdough. The tang of the bread offsets the flavors perfectly. Serve immediately or the next day as open-faced sandwiches and enjoy with the people you love.

What do you think? What items do you keep on hand for last minute meals?