Shrimp Dip

I love this dip! I eat it on crackers, toast points, chips... It's good on anything as far as I'm concerned!
It is quick and easy too! (My favorite kind :-)

2 cans sm Shrimp, drained
    or 12 oz fresh shrimp, chopped
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 sm Onion, minced
½ t Salt
Cayenne Pepper, dash
Lemon Juice

Mix and Chill.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Here's another one of Mama's recipes that was written out more like a grocery list. I had to figure out the actual recipe... It's a good one!

Sift Together:

1 ½ cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 t soda
½ t Salt

Add:

1 stick butter, melted
1 Egg, beaten
1 can Fruit Cocktail, all of 1 pound can

Mix with spoon.

Pour into greased and floured pan (large sheet cake size)

Mix Together:

¾ cup Brown Sugar
¾ cup Coconut
¾ cup Nuts, chopped

Sprinkle in pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350.

Hot Crab Melt

Every time I post a recipe with Crab in it, I think about my Uncle Perry and our summer trips to Mitchum Creek!

Taken from my post on July 8th, 2010... "Soft Shelled Crabs from Mitchum Creek"

Uncle Perry... The Old Man of the Sea

"I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. ( Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Hot Crab Melt

6 oz Crab Meat
¼ cup Tartar Sauce
2 T Celery, finely chopped
2 T Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 t Lemon Juice
2 English Muffins, Split and Toasted
4 slices American Cheese

Combine all ingredients except muffins and cheese. Mix well. Place spread on muffin halves. Bake at 350 for five minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Notes: “Great with shrimp too!” (Mama's favorite :-)

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

Mama always said that you could make shortcuts all you want (as mentioned in her note below), but you have to know the right way to prepare a dish! So here's the real deal... Southern Old Fashion Banana Pudding recipe.

¾ cup Sugar

2 T Flour

¼ t Salt

2 cups Milk

3 Eggs, separated

1 t Vanilla

6 medium bananas, sliced

Vanilla Wafers


Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Stir in milk. Cook over boiling water until thick. Stir constantly. Cook, uncovered 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Beat egg yolks. **Gradually stir into hot mixture. Return to boiler and cook 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Line bottom of baking dish with wafers. Top with a layer of bananas, and then pour custard to top of bananas. Continue to layer cookies, bananas and then custard. Beat egg whites stiff, gradually add remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Pile on top of custard. Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes at 425 or until lightly browned.

Note: “You can use instant pudding as a short-cut, but that’s not as good as the old fashion kind…”

**I will add that if you are a beginner, I'd temper the eggs before adding to the milk mixture. If not, you might risk scrambling them and having to start over.

Mama’s Date & Nut Bread

This is my Grandmama Bradham’s Recipe. Notice that I included the notes that my Mama wrote to me on each recipe. She always had little hints and ideas to give me on all her recipes. I know that those are the really good ones and sure to please!

1 ½ cups boiling Water
½ pound Dates, pitted and cut
3 T Butter
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 T Vanilla
3 cups Flour
2 t Baking Soda
¼ t Salt
1 cup Pecans, chopped

Combine boiling water, dates and butter. Cool. In another bowl, mix flour, soda and salt… then and sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Add date mixture and stir in nuts. Bake in 2 greased 9x5 loaf pans for 1 hour at 350.

Note: “Delicious sliced and spread with cream cheese”
Pineapple & cream cheese too!


Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

In a bowl, combine cream cheese and pineapple. Chill. 
(Remember to taste as you are combining, the pineapple may not be sweet enough for you. Add sugar 1/2 teaspoon at the time, until it is sweet enough.)

Black Walnut Pound Cake

This is another one of Mama's recipes that she made notes on and saved them for me. This one is Grandmama Bradham's Black Walnut Pound Cake.

1 pound 10X Sugar
¾ pound Butter
6 large Eggs
1 t Vanilla
1 T Black Walnut Extract
1 cup Black Walnuts
3 cups Flour
2 T Flour

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add and beat in one egg at a time. Add flour one third at a time. Add vanilla and walnut extract. Fold in the walnuts. Bake in a tube pan. Pan should be greased or lined with brown paper in the bottom. Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes at 325. Let cool about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool and spread with Cream Cheese Icing.

Note: Grandmama Bradham made this and served it with Cream Cheese Icing…

Cream Cheese Icing:
Whip 1 package Cream Cheese with 1 t Vanilla and about ½ box of 10X Sugar until smooth.

Milkshakes, Slushies and Smoothies!

Here are some great summertime cool-down drinks. I bet the kids would love to help with these! Help cure the summertime  "I'm bored!" blues!  How many of you remember the Purple Cow Drink?

Purple Cow

2 cups milk
1 cup grape juice
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Combine milk, grape juice and half the ice cream in a blender and blend. Pour into 4 glasses and top with remaining ice cream. Garnish with whipped cream and a cherry, if you wish.
** Pink Cow - substitute cranberry for grape juice


Lively Lime Drink

2 scoops vanilla ice cream
3 T frozen limeade concentrate
2 cups milk

Combine in a blender and blend. If you want, add some green food coloring for a brighter lime color.


Chocolate-Cherry Cooler

2 cups chocolate milk
2 cups cherry ice cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine in a blender and blend.


Orange-Pineapple Whirl

1 6oz can orange juice concentrate
2 cups milk
1 cup pineapple ice cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Combine in a blender and blend until creamy.


Maple-Pecan Milkshake

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups skim milk
1 cup butter-pecan ice cream

Combine in a blender and blend until smooth.


Tutti-Frutti Blush

1 8oz can fruit cocktail
1/2 cup grenadine syrup
2 cups strawberry ice cream
2 cups milk

Combine in a blender and blend until smooth.


Peach Smoothie

1 8oz can peaches and syrup
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/4 tsp almond extract

Combine in a blender and blend until smooth.