By Mindy Merrell / The Tennessean

Before we know it, Easter will be over. So what to do with all those colored eggs in the fridge? Egg salad is the simple answer.

A bowlful of chopped, hard-cooked eggs moistened with mayonnaise is the egg salad purist's dream come true. But with the addition of an ingredient or two, you can change its character from old standby to stand-out.

We're not talking just chopped celery. Imagine egg salad with roasted red peppers, black olives and chopped fresh parsley or basil served open-face on crusty bread. Stir in a spoonful of salsa, scallions and avocado chunks and serve with tortilla chips or crackers. Chunks of leftover Easter ham, chopped cooked asparagus and a spoonful of Dijon mustard bring egg salad to yet another level.

No need for a recipe, just start with the master recipe and use your imagination, with a little help from our additions list.

Too Many Eggs Salad

6 hard cooked eggs, chopped

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Cover and refrigerate. Makes 4-6 servings.

Customize with addition

You can make egg salad your own creation with these additions:

• Chopped pimento or roasted red peppers

• Crumbled cooked bacon, chunks of baked or country ham, cubes of salami

• Dash of curry powder

• Spoonful of yellow, Dijon or grainy mustard

• Chopped green or black olives

• Chopped leftover steamed asparagus or broccoli

• Cubed cooked potatoes

• Chopped celery

• Chopped fresh red or green bell pepper

• Chopped red onion, chives or scallions

• Capers, chopped sweet or dill pickles

• Bits of shredded smoked fish such as salmon or trout

• Dash of hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce or lemon juice

• Spoonful of salsa, chopped jalapeŇo pepper

• Chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, chervil, dill, tarragon, basil, thyme or cilantro

Easter egg safety tips

 Get rid of any cracked eggs and all that have been out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. Consider the Easter egg hunt and your colorful egg centerpiece as creative, inexpensive fun - but not food.

 Refrigerate all eggs after display within two hours.

 Use all hard-cooked eggs within one week.