Earl Wishes Mom a Happy Birthday

Today should have been my mother's 85th birthday, except we lost her last year. She was one of my earliest cooking inspirations. What she taught me was a deep love for eggs, real butter, milk (she always wanted me to drink whole fat), a love of shopping for bargains and for shopping locally. We didn't have a breadth to our cuisines but the depth of flavor was always present. 

My whole childhood she was a stay at home mom. Breakfasts were always hot...eggs, bacon, waffles with bacon INSIDE, hot cereal(non-instant) and juice or milk or both. She made the best mac & cheese, which I never appreciated until I was an adult, and most every Sunday she prepared a nice sized roast with potatoes and carrots. 

In the summers in the 60s, she could be found CANNING. I remember one summer she tried canning concord grapes and was purple to her elbows for what seemed like weeks. My favorite canned product she made was chili sauce, not the hot salsa sauce, but more of a chunky ketchup. Today, there is even a brand called "Homemade Chili Sauce", but it is not as good as hers. My dad would cover his eggs with it, and I liked it on scrambled eggs. 

She didn't like spicy food and LOVED roast turkey. For the last few months of her life, I got to cook for her, which I will always be thankful for. My baby sis and my #2 daughter cooked for her a bunch too, and she was always very appreciative. 

In the early 70s I found the recipe below while having dinner with my Grandma (my dad's mom). I fell in love, and mom got the recipe and it became a favorite at family parties on my mom's side of the family. My #1 daughter got this for her birthday last year and my #2 daughter made it keto-friendly.

Today may be her birthday, but we celebrate her life. Happy Birthday Mom 🎂 ❣
 

print recipe

Salt Lake's Sour Cream Chicken

by Earl Cooks May-26-2017

from the Salt Lake Tribune around 1970 This is recipe I discovered while eating with my Grandma Mary and Aunt Sarah. The family was out of town and I was invited to dine with them one Sunday It became a wonderful addition to our families parties and has been passed down to my daughters and grandsons. Chicken breast, sour cream, butter and seasoning salt make the base of a great marinade.

Ingredients

• 8 Chicken Breast Halves
• 1 pint (16 oz.) Sour Cream (Low fat may be used)
• 2 1/2 TBL Lemon Juice
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 tsp (to taste) Salt
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 tsp (to taste) Season Salt (We used Lawry's)
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs (very fine)
• 1/4 pound (1 Stick) Butter-REAL (melted)

Instructions

Combine sour cream, lemon juice, season salt, salt, paprika and garlic salt.Dip chicken into mixture, using all of the mixturePlace chicken in a single layer in a glass baking dish (NO ALUMINUM PANS).Cover with foil and place in refrigerator over night or LONGER! Before baking, sprinkle crumbs over entire dish then drizzle melted butter over crumbs. Cover anew and place in preheated 350° oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven, remove foil, replace in oven for 30 minutes more to brown the bread crumbs.Check for doneness. Remove and serve. Take drippings and serve over baked or mashed potatoes, rice or even cooked eggs and hash browns

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins Total time: 2 hour Yield: 8 Servings