PB&J Without Butter?

 A few Christmases ago, in fact, the Christmas just before her passing, my dear mom was not well enough to come to our family Christmas party. Not to be left out of the holiday spirit, as each family member visited, she had a gift for them...a jar of Smucker's Red Raspberry Preserves. To this day, I don't know who brought them to her, but I have always loved Smucker's products and didn't think to ask. Fewer than 3 months later, she was no longer with us, but the preserves were and an anecdote about PB&J sandwiches along with it.

To set the groundwork, several years ago when my mother was cleaning the home of a wealthy woman (she loved cleaning), we were visiting the home where she cleaned, and making some sandwiches. Let me say that my mother has always loved BUTTER...not margarine or spreads, she could believe it's not butter! The interesting thing I learned that day was she had NEVER buttered the bread on our/her PB&Js! I understood not doing the jam/jelly side, but I always buttered the peanut butter side, cause I love butter too! I probably gave her a bit too much ribbing for her butter-less peanut butter, and I felt bad afterword. Other family members were surprised too.

That brings me to this post. Since being diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes, I have had to find a better way to eat a PB&J. In keeping with the gift from my mom, I still use Smucker's Red Raspberry Preserves, but now the Sugar Free variety sweetened

with Splenda. My favorite replacement for the peanut butter is Sunflower Butter from Trader Joe's and I use Dave's Killer Bread, or Franz's 24 grain bread, and let us not forget BUTTER! This is a truly delicious replacement and a bit more healthy for me. We never had whole wheat bread growing up; just the soft, white, store-brand with an occasional loaf of Wonder Bread thrown in! Bless you, Mom, and thanks for all of the PB&Js, even without butter!

Earl Cooks Mother's Day Dinner for the Mother of My Girls

Are you my mother? No. But the mother of if my girls and the best woman I have ever known.

I started the meal with a sous-vide steakc which I then pan seared in my 12" cast iron skillet, seasoned with Chicago steak seasoning, salt & pepper.

AfterI seared off the steak, I removed it to rest and then place some

finely diced new potatoes to absorb the seasoning and beefy flavor from the steaks. Once that is well on it's way, I add some artichoke hearts to the skillet, just to heat them through. There w have it Steak & Potatoes & Artichoke Hearts.

My Gal (a.k.a.:"Turkey") is a meat and potatoes kinda girl, but she loves veggies and salads too! Love You!

"Turkey's" Turkey Dinner for My Birthday In Honor of My Mom

My recent birthday was spent away from home as most are. We have a small condo at the same time
as Oktoberfest at a Ski resort near our home. We have had it for 40 years and love getting away in the fall. The mountains, the colors, the crystal clear air, and the occasional snow, all make for a lovely week to do almost nothing. We have the kids and grandboys up for the weekend, but by the time my birthday rolls around, they are gone and we are blissfully enjoying the quiet and  time together.

This birthday, was one of those monument numbers that measure where you are in life, and I decided to honor my mother for giving birth to me by eating here favorite meal - Turkey Dinner. She loved Turkey dinner, the WHOLE dinner. I knew this would be hard to do because we have a tiny galley kitchen in our condo, but I had a plan to make it easy...a small (2 to 3 lbs) turkey breast that cooks from frozen, boxed dressing and instant potatoes. I had planned on doing it myself butr my lovey wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") wanted to prepare it for me, for my birthday!

The ingredients were straight forward:
1-Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey breast (frozen and cooks from frozen)
1-3lb. bag of small yams (sweet potatoes)
1-Package of a new item I discovered called Veggie Mash from a company called Idaho Spuds. This was the first time I had heard of this company or product, so I thought I would give it a try. It is potatoes AND cauliflower
1-Can Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. I don't normally eat cranberry sauce with my turkey, but my mom loved it as does my wife...but it must be JELLIED!
1-Box Mrs. Cubbison's  cubed Herb Stuffing

We also needed some diced celery, diced yellow onion, and simple seasonings. For the gravy, the turkey comes with a gravy packet included, which was fine for this. I am going to tell you these few ingredients make for a great weeknight dinner

The turkey is the only item that takes time but once the oven is heated it is simply an hour and 45 minutes in a baking dish or roaster.Here you see it in all it's glory. It tasted SO good was made even better by my lovely wife volunteering to make it for me. So this dinner is no just for me, it is for my mom, who gave me life, and for my wife who has been my life for more than 40 years now. One loved turkey and one is affectionately called "Turkey"! love you both forever!!!

Earl Cooks Snak Mix Mix-Up

If you have been reading here, you may have noticed that I like Chex Mix. I learned to like it in the 60s when my mom made it from scratch, and still love the savory saltiness of the crunchy morsels and nuts. But it seems crazy for me to buy 3 boxes of cereal, bagel crisps a pretzels to make today's version. There is just the two of us and we don't eat much cereal! I decided to take what they are already giving us in the prepackaged mix and reinvent it so it TASTES like it should. And this time, I am adding another favorite - Gardetto's Snack Mix to make it that much better! These products are very similar and the bags are both about 15 oz. in the family size. The other main ingredients are deluxe mixed nuts from Sam's Club and REAL butter. 

For seasoning, the two brand name items I recommend for their consistent flavor and quality are Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Why? Two reasons, the first is,  it was in the original recipe. The second is that they are both originals too. Because the pre-made mixes have a lot of salt, I will go light on these because of their salt content.

 The final additions to the mix are ground mustard, garlic POWDER and onion POWDER (not salt). These three enhance the flavors of the seasoned salt, without the salt. The mustard gives a very light bright and fresh flavor.

Results & Conclusions 
This turned out great! I should have doubled the recipe because I liked it so well. A great replacement for the original and no leftover cereal! The steps and quantities follow:
Ingredients:
½ bag each of Original Chex Mix & Original Gardetto's Snack Mix
2 cups Deluxe Mixed Nuts
1 stick REAL butter
2 tsp Lea & Perrin's® Worcestershire Sauce 
1 tsp Lawry's® Seasoned Salt
½ tsp ground mustard (or to taste)
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder 

Steps

• In a large, oven-proof mixing bowl (I used a metal one), melt the butter in a 250℉ oven. 
• When melted, add to the butter ALL the seasonings and mix them together well. 
• Add to the butter & seasonings, the mixed nuts and make certain they are well coated.
• Now add the packaged mixes and stir everything until well coated.
• Finally, pour the mix onto a baking sheet. Bake at 250℉ until the crunch is restored and the butter & seasoning have soaked in. Store in an airtight container or zipper bag. (I put a folded paper towel in the container to absorb any humidity.

Earl Cooks Cheese & Pickles Please - a Sandwich Just Like Mom Made - Sort of

The other day I was taking a short nap when I dreamt about a sandwich my mom used to make and I woke up craving it. It is a Cheese & Pickle Sandwich, with just a few simple ingredients you  usually have on hand. If it sounds weird, it does to my wife too.

—Besides the bread (I used my wife's homemade), all you need is a mild cheese (I chose Colby Jack but my mom always used mild cheddar), bread and butter pickles, and mayonnaise (I used a combination of mayo & horseradish on mine).
—Slice or shave your cheese very thin. You will be shingling it on the bread.
—Coat both sides of the bread with the dressing you choose. I think my mom would occasionally add mustard too, but I didn't need it with the horseradish.
—Layer the pickles on one side of the bread. Stackers are GREAT for a sandwich. Bread and Butter pickles taste best with the mild cheese. I love dill pickles but try it with bread and butter first. You may be surprised. Layer the cheese

slices on top of the pickles, top with the bread and cut on the bias.

This is a great sandwich when you don't want a PB&J. The only thing that might be a good addition would be lettuce, but it's not necessary! 

Earl Cooks Grilled Ham & Eggs -- Breakfast from Leftovers

I am not Sam. Neither my Eggs nor my ham are green but still:

"I WOULD EAT THEM IN A BOAT. AND I WOULD EAT THEM WITH A GOAT...AND I WILL EAT THEM, IN THE RAIN. AND IN THE DARK. AND ON A TRAIN. AND IN A CAR. AND IN A TREE. THEY ARE SO GOOD, SO GOOD, YOU SEE!"

Just as Dr. Seuss was a part of my childhood, my kids childhood and my grandkids childhood, EGGS were also a big part of my childhood thanks to my mom, and I have tried to make it part of my family's childhoods too. My Grandboys call them Dippin' Eggs and they are simply large eggs with the yolks RUNNY and the whites SET. I like them with any type of breakfast meat—bacon, sausage or ham, but today I had a breakfast-sized piece of grilled ham steak from earlier in the week which I knew was perfect. A slice of "Turkey's" homemade bread now turned into toast and slathered with butter. A dash of freshly ground pepper and I have a meal fit for an EARL. I posted my directions when I first started my blog so here is the link:

Dippin' Eggs

Thanks to Dr. Seuss for his green eggs and ham, but thanks to my mom for steamed eggs and ham!

"SO I WILL EAT THEM IN A BOX. AND I WILL EAT THEM WITH A FOX. AND I WILL EAT THEM IN A HOUSE. AND I WILL EAT THEM WITH A MOUSE. AND I WILL EAT THEM HERE AND THERE. SAY! I WILL EAT THEM ANYWHERE! I DO SO LIKE STEAMED EGGS AND HAM!"

Earl Cooks 2 Dishes and a Snack for a Christmas Feast at Daughter #2's House - The Snack

This time of year is about holiday traditions. It is also the first Christmas since our mom's passing. My daughter #2 wanted to celebrate our mom's life this Christmas and I thought that was great!

One of those traditions from my youth was Mom making the original Chex "party mix" for a toy party she was hosting at our house in the late 60s, much like the Discovery Toys or Tupperware parties. They had the coolest toys to demonstrate, and as a young boy, I hoped one of them would be mine. It never happened, but what I do remember was watching Mom make the mix. The recipe was from the back of the 1966 Chex box. Every other “original” recipe I've found is not how it was then and not how she made it. A version is still on the boxes today, but I have always loved the original. 

The ad (pictured here) is a bit small so I will list the ingredients & Instructions here with the modification I make to enhance the flavor to match my memories, and I think it makes it closer to what mom made.
CLICK BELOW FOR RECIPE(S) and a printable version

Earl Cooks Milk Poached Eggs on Toast

Some of my earliest memories of my mom are her cooking breakfasts for us, which she did every school day. She always had oatmeal available, and usually eggs. On special days she would make waffles with bacon cooked right into the waffles. Back then all I remember having, and maybe all she could find was Mapleine flavored syrup, which she made fresh and served hot. I was an adult before I ever tasted REAL maple syrup, but with REAL butter and REAL bacon, I was fine with what we had. Occasionally we had some Log Cabin syrup, but it was served cold and didn't melt the butter nearly as well. But this post isn't about what she fixed us, it's about what she fixed herself...almost right up to her last day on this earth. She loved MILK POACHED EGGS on toast! I don't remember her ever giving any of us even a taste. After we were all fed and the dishes cleared, she would pour some milk into our electric frying pan and make herself her breakfast treat. I love eggs. I love eggs runny. When "Turkey" and I were on a cruise to the Caribbean a few years ago, I ate poached eggs every day. When I have tried to poach them myself, normally, or with a microwave, I have not been successful. They were never as good as my dippin' eggs (steamed), so I figured why bother. But I was thinking about Mom and wondering if there was something to the milk poaching that made them egg-ceptional (sorry, just had to). so here are the directions and the results.(Read More below)