PB & [What?!]

We all have fond memories of having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as children. Some of us had relatives or friends who turned us onto new ways of enjoying peanut butter sandwiches or maybe we were creative enough to think up one on our own.

For example, using jam instead of jelly isn't much of a variation and when a former co-worker said that she likes PB & syrup, it was easy to understand because syrup is sweet. From there, it's a short step to honey which is easier because it doesn't run as quickly as syrup.

PB & bananas were a surprise, however, as were PB & potato chips. After that, I discovered PB & smoked Vienna sausages which have to be smoked because regular Vienna sausages make the sandwich bland.

A few weeks ago, a friend revealed that she likes PB & ketchup sandwiches crediting her uncle for turning her on to them. That prompted another friend of hers to disclose that her mother likes PB & mustard sandwiches.

Willing to try almost anything at least once put me in the ketchup aisle during my last shopping trip.

I kind of wussed out, though, by asking for a couple of ketchup packets at the Arby's drive-thru window when I stopped for a Reuben. That's because I didn't want a whole bottle of ketchup to sit past it's expiration date in my refrigerator, again, if the PB & K didn't suit my taste.

My first sandwich had PB on one slice of bread and the Heinz ketchup was way too strong. My second attempt had PB on both slices and the ketchup was still too strong. I think a person either has to like ketchup a lot more than I do or I need to use less than a full packet to make it work for me. Yes, I'm willing to try it again and have a packet of Hunt's ketchup ready to go. All I need is bread.

I've yet to get up the nerve to try the PB & mustard. If it works out, it'll be another simple road trip recipe since mustard packets are easy to get and bread and peanut butter don't need to be refrigerated.