Friday, May 17, 2013

Make a Better PB & J Sandwich

My mother always made the best Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. She always used Grape Jam not jelly because it is fruitier. She had an usual technique to make them that I never thought to ask her about; she would mix the peanut butter with the jam in a bowl before spreading it thickly onto bread. 



My friends at school always thought it was weird having it mixed up together that way. Sometimes I felt a little embarrassed at lunch time but mostly I just enjoyed the sandwich that was made with love. I also made my PB & J's by mixing the peanut butter with the jam, and as a new mom I served them like that to my kids. 

When my kids were old enough to take them for school lunches, their friends also laughed at them because it was weird. So, I stopped mixing and began to make them like usual folks; spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the jam on the other slice of bread.



Last week I made PB & J sandwiches for my grand kids the normal way and watched them  as they began to eat. One was opening the bread and licking off the jam, another was wiping up jam that had squeezed from the sandwich and on to her blouse as she took a bite . . . and I had a light bulb moment!



When peanut butter is mixed well with jam, it doesn't ooze out and little ones can't eat only the jam and leave the peanut butter! And better yet, you can really pile the mixed peanut butter and jam on the bread nice and thick so it is lusciously good! Now I know why my mom mixed them, she was ridiculously practical! 



So I once again began to mix the two ingredients, and serve to my family the same ole sandwich but made an old fashioned way, and of course, with heaping helpings of love; just like my mom use to make :)


I link at these parties.


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58 comments:

  1. My husband makes them the way your Mom did, by mixing the peanut butter and jelly. I always thought it was weird, but now I see how practical it is. Thannks!

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  2. Now my husband is a huge PB&J kinna guy and I never thought to make his sandwiches like this but Im definitely going to try it this way. Thank you so much for sharing this! :)

    On another note, have you been getting hit with a lot of spam on your blog lately? I put up a post on mine this morning about it. Im getting killed with it lately.. not sure whats going on or why..

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    1. Hi Robyn, yes I am also getting lots of spam lately. It goes in waves it seems. I was getting so much I had to start moderating the comments because it was getting through the filters. It's awful isn't it?

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  3. What a good idea! I really should start doing it this way. My little boy makes a big mess whenever he eats PB&J.

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  4. What a sweet post...I love that you are using grama's way again with your kiddos!
    Did you tell them it was her idea? LOL A little ancestoral connection to someone special!
    This is the first time I've heard of mixing them. My mom made them seperately...and thus I did too/do now. Take orders for no crusts, grape or strawberry, thick or thin! Wonder if this method would appeal to them now?I'm thinking the Littles are set in their PB ways by at age 5!
    Joan

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  5. I now have a craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...

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  6. This is one of those, "Now why didn't I think of that?" ideas! I am so glad you shared it!!!

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  7. What a sweet post! So full of memories and family! :) Thanks for linking up at Family Fun Friday at http://happyandblessedhome.com!

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  8. Love this!! There’s a new LINK-UP Party going on at thet2women.com and we would love to feature your post!! Here’s the link: http://thet2women.com/welcome-to-one-sharendipity-place-link-up-2/

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  9. OK I tried this the other day and I think I added way too much jam as the PB an Jam mix were squirting out all over the sides of the bread.. I'm going to keep trying though, this was SO much easier than the regular way.. LOL

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  10. Awe, this is such a sweet story. I am going to try this for my daughter!

    Thank you for linking up to Raising Imperfection!
    Make sure to check back on Friday to see if you were featured.
    Leslie
    www.violetimperfection.com

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  11. Now there is a smart idea!!

    Thank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
    Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. :)

    ¤´¨)
    ¸.•*´
    (¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
    www.raising-reagan.com

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  12. I love "Ah Ha" moments like that! Oooy gooey goodness too!
    Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday!
    Hope your week is extraordinary!

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  13. I love this! My husband taught me this trick when we first met and I thought he was crazy - now it's the only way I want a PB&J. Visiting from Show Me Your Plaid Mondays!

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  14. Mixing PB and J is a great idea! I'm going to try that next time. Stopping by from Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop!

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  15. Awww, such a sweet story! I never thought that kids would notice something like that. My aunt used to mix her children's food altogether in a bowl and it always grossed me out. These were grade school children (they hated it too) and old enough to eat their own food from a plate. She would offer to get our food for us at family holidays and we'd say "Nooooo!"

    My hubby puts butter or margarine on bread before he puts jelly on it so that it doesn't leak through, lol! Thanks so much for linking up to the "Making Your Home Sing Monday" linky party today! :)

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  16. Gotta love a blog that can improve our most frugal lunch!

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  17. We also mixed ours together too! So much better!

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  18. In addition to Monday Kid Corner Weekly Linky Party, this week's theme is MUD. Brush off those archives and link them up at thejennyevolution.com. See you there! Jennifer

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  19. Peanut Butter & Jelly is sooo yummy - even as an adult! LOL! I've never mixed them like this - I'll have to give it a try!

    Danielle
    SewMuchCrafting.com

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  20. I love it! I think I'll start making ours that way.

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  21. Hi Lady! I featured you today on Blissful and Domestic. Stop by and check it out:>

    Danielle @ Blissful & Domestic
    http://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/2013/05/weekly-recipe-round-up-1.html

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  22. What a great idea, Connie - I had never thought about making them like that!

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    1. Thanks so much for sharing at last week's All my Bloggy Friends - Linda and I look forward to seeing what you share this week! :)

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  23. How about that?! I might have to go make a sandwich just to try it ;). My MIL puts the peanut butter on the bread and then spreads the jelly on the same slice, on top of the peanut butter, and then puts the clean other slice of bread on top. who knew there were so many ways to make a pb&j sandwich :)

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  24. What a great idea! Love the great post, too! Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent. Hope you are having a wonderful week.
    Hugs
    Kathy

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  25. Great idea! I think my daughter would love this!

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  26. Awesome idea! Plus you get a perfect balance of peanut butter and jam in each bite ;)

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  27. I must try this! Talk about an aha moment!

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  28. Awwwh, that is truly sweet in every way! thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday. and by the way I had a friend whose mother put mayonaise in the peanut butter sandwich, very strange indeed. My mother on the other hand put lettuce instead of jelly, for a healthier and crunchy version, on whole wheat bread, of course. This reminds me to try this with my kids, thanks!

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  29. I love PB&J sandwiches. My oldest son smashed and mixed a lot of his food and this was one of them. He usually smashed in a banana, too. I wonder if he still does it now that he's a man? LOL I'll have to ask.

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  30. Hopping thru Ducks 'n a Row. This is genius! Such a simple concept. I look a good PB&J every now and then, so next time I make one I will be doing it this way. Thanks for sharing! Already a follower.
    ~Jackie @ The Non-Martha Momma

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  31. Isn't it funny how something as simple as this can make a better sandwich? Thanks for sharing with SYC. I will be giving it a try.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  32. yum! Thats fun! I will have to try this with my boys :o) I feed them P B and J all the time. Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays and for the link back :o) Can't wait to see what you bring next week. Emily @ Nap-Time Creations

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  33. Reminds me of goober-grape! My daughter has started asking me to make her a plain jelly sandwich and a plain pb sandwich - she'll eat the jelly half and leave the PB, so I like this idea! Will try! Thanks for linking up with me and my co-hosts at PinIt! Tuesday!

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  34. Hey! That's a really great idea!! I never thought mixing the two and then spreading onto the bread!

    Thank you for sharing at Party In Polka Dots!

    Shelley

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  35. Great idea! Never thought of that :) Thanks so much for sharing on The Creative HomeAcre!
    Hope to see you again tomorrow at:
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/05/thecreativehomeacrehom17.html

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  36. Loved your post!
    I've always loved Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches! =)
    I found your link at "Friendship Friday". =)

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  37. What a great idea! I am definitely going to have to try this one for my kids! Thanks for linking up to Motivation Monday:)

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  38. I never thought of doing this! Great idea and great story!

    Thank you for linking this up to the In and Out of the Kitchen link party. I will be featuring it at the Top 10 post that will go live on Monday morning.

    Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com

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  39. Okay, I have a confession.
    I have NEVER had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.
    (Yes, I'm American.)
    I've had peanut butter. And I've had jelly but I've never mixed the two on a sandwich. It just seems...odd to me. But, thanks for sharing this with us at Tasty Tuesdays! I've pinned it & shared it with my followers!

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  40. HA! I never thought of mixing them. I'm the only one who eats peanut butter in my house but I'm gonna try it.
    Thanks so much for sharing at Tuesdays with a Twist. Hope to see you again this week!

    http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2013/05/tuesdays-with-twist-7-and-huge-seed.html

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  41. I have also never thought to do this. Might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  42. This is such a smart idea! Thank you for sharing on Blog Stalking Thursday! I have featured your project on Blog Stalking Thursday Features YOU! The post is going live later tonight. I would love for you to stop by and grab a feature button. Thanks again for sharing!

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  43. Brilliant! I'm going to have to give it a try! My kids rarely eat jelly on their sandwiches but they may like it prepared this way!

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  44. Great idea! I never would have thought to do that :)

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  45. Huh.. Great idea! I'm so going to do this for my little guy :) Thanks so much for sharing this with us at the Weekend Wonders Party!! Hope you have a great day!

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  46. Interesting. This makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the idea. Jodi@ www.meaningfulmama.com

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  47. Thanks for this post. I have always made my PBJ this way and for over 20 years my husband has said I was "weird", no one else eats PBJ that way. Can't wait to share this post with him!

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  48. What a great idea! Funny that the other children even noticed the way it was spread. My mom made us a lot of sprout and cheese sandwiches growing up, so we always got comments at school, too.

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  49. I have never thought of this as it creates an extra dish to wash! But I will be trying it to see how it tastes... I think i will like it more than the individual way I used to spread them but hey, it only takes two seconds to wash the bowl right?

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  50. Another idea...

    I make my daughter's PB&Js a little different. I put PB on BOTH pieces of break and the jelly in the middle. Reason: sandwich doesn't get soggy!

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  51. Wow! I never would have taken the extra step to mix the two together. My son loves PB&J. I will have to try this next time and see what he thinks :) Very fun! Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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