Ermie Burgers ... My Favorite Comfort Food

I love my birthday. No, don't go trying to check, it isn't my birthday now. This is just common knowledge of anyone who has known me any time within two months of the month of June. I start the first celebration somewhere around the last week of May, and it usually continues through the entire month of June. 

I've sometimes wondered why I thought my birthday was worth a national public holiday when so many women (and men) say that they don't want anyone to even know it is their birthday. (Although I really think everyone likes a good birthday.)

It isn't hard to figure out why I love my birthday. In my family, it was always a big deal. I, being the self centered child and later self centered adult, thought it was because everyone came home for my birthday. Auburn, Nashville, Huntsville, wherever ... the whole family drove home for my birthday celebration. I mean, my birthday had to be important if everyone in the family showed up .... right?

Then one day, it hit me. They didn't come to see me, they came for my birthday meal. Mom always cooked my favorite meal for my birthday, and everyone knew what it was going to be. The cake changed from chocolate to coconut over the years, but the main dish never changed. We called them juice burgers. My friends here in Birmingham decided that was a stupid name (I had to agree with them after I saw the blank looks they gave me when I said I was making them) and renamed them Ermie Burgers. Named after my mom, Ermie. (yeah really Ermie, not Ernie or Erma - Ermie)

Over the years as we added family members, there were lots and lots of picky eaters. But we never had one that would turn down this simple dish. Everyone laughs when I describe them as my favorite meal, and no one grasps how good they are, until the first bite.

The origin of the recipe is kind of shady. Our church had juice burger suppers. My aunt may have been the first to make them. But Mom was the one who made the meal a regular event. For me this silly little meal is the best comfort food in the world. You are going to laugh when you see the ingredients, and love me when you taste the results. 

I just made a big pot. It freezes well and can be eaten later, so Mom used to make a lot and then have some ready to defrost and serve at any time. I had a few friends over when I made this batch and none of mine made it to the freezer. I love that.

I started with two pounds of browned ground sirloin. You can use any ground beef, I just like the really lean. (That's the way Momma did it.)

One large chopped onion. Don't you like the cute little chopper that Laura and Martin gave me? It matches my kitchen.

Mom used to just toss the onion in the big skillet with the ground beef, but I decided to cook my Ermie Burgers in the slow cooker, so I sauteed mine for a few minutes first .

And then the first of the secret ingredients. Mom always used two cans of regular cream of mushroom soup, but hey ... we should all try to be healthier, right? So I used the HUGE can of 98% fat free. 

And then the SUPER secret ingredients.

Ummmm hummmm ...  I have never measured the amount before, and I KNOW Mom never measured, but for the purposes of this blog,  I got out the measuring cup. I used about 5/8 of a cup of Heinz Ketchup and 1/4 of a cup of French's Yellow Mustard. 5/8 because that is how much was in the bottle. Heinz because that is the only kind Mom ever bought. I guess any other ketchup would be fine, but I will not guarantee it. Same thing with the French's Yellow Mustard. Mom never bought a brown mustard or a spicy mustard or dijon mustard. Plain old yellow mustard was all you were going to find in our house.

Mom would brown the ground beef, toss in the rest and leave it to simmer. I couldn't tell you how long. Until she decided it was ready.

Since I didn't want to really pay attention to whether it was ready or not, I decided to toss everything into the crock pot and leave it on low for the day.

Now for the creative part ... how to eat them. We always ate them open faced, topped with cheese and your favorite combination of sliced onion, pickles and tomato slices.  (I always did onion and pickles.) But this time I had a specific craving. I put Fritos in the bottom of a bowl and topped them with Ermie Burgers and shredded cheese (cheddar, American, whatever you like).  Add a Rolling Rock and wait for birthday presents. Wait ... oh yeah .... it isn't my birthday. Who cares.

From Bubba to Toto

Just a little story delivered to me via my friend Sondra.

For those of you who don't live in one of the cities that connects directly to Oz, tornados are something you think about when the images are plastered all over the evening news. For those of us who live through those images, they are a terrifying fact of life.

I have been blessed to have been consistently passed by, other than one small piece of siding which I am sure is being used by the tin man to patch up his house. But for so many it has meant the loss of loved ones, companions, everything they own, literally the roof over their heads. The grief is indescribable and beyond my ability to understand or belittle by trying to discuss.

But in this, we search for the happy endings. The little stories that give us hope. Please don't take this story as in anyway diminishing the loss of so many.

The image above was of the tornado that went through Athens, AL. This is where my niece lives with her husband and the two tow headed girlieques. They were fine and untouched, although many were not so lucky.

My friend, Sondra, posted this image after the tornado went through.

This was a kennel that was hit. She let me know that all but one dog had been found and moved to another kennel. As sad as losing one pup was, the fact that only one was lost was pretty amazing.

Today, behold Bubba. Officially renamed Toto by one of Sondra's friends. A broken jaw, that will mend, and a few missing teeth, which he can survive without, and a new convert to Dorothy's belief that "there's no place like home".

Welcome home Toto.