We spent a weekend in Memphis this past month with our daughter April and her family, along with other family members and friends celebrating our soon-to-be-here grandson with a baby shower. He is expected somewhere around Dec. 1, just in time for that nice little tax write-off!

One of her friends from high school, Shelby Schifflett, and her fiancé, Bradley, held the shower for her. I helped some, but Shelby did the decorating and all of the running around. April has two daughters, but now she and hubby are expecting a boy. Proud Daddy finally has someone with whom to share the “attitudes,” and he is on cloud nine. So are the rest of us!

It was really fun to see all the little-boy-blue onesies, booties and blankets. I remember the feeling. I had two boys before I finally got that sweet little angel girl. And she still is just that! As far as boys go, I couldn’t have asked for any better. In my heart, all my children are angels!

Anyway, enough of that. I know that every mom feels the same way.

What I am going to write about was the delicious punch and a wonderfully addicting chicken-cheese dip. They were both so good!

I made the punch. I was searching the Internet for shower games and accidently ran across the punch. It sounded so good that I just had to make it. That idea paid off well because it was one of the big hits of the party. I was even smart enough to think ahead and have extra ingredients on hand to make another batch, which we needed.

I promise, this is an excellent punch, and it would work at any party.

As for the chicken dip, Shelby’s fiancé, Bradley, is the maker (it’s like Rotel Cheese Dip – you just can’t walk away!), and was kind enough to share the recipe with me. I, in turn, will share it with all of you! You will love it. And with all the games going on it would be perfect for one of those football afternoons with the whole gang hanging around.

I asked Bradley if he cooked very much, but before I got an answer, I looked down at the perfectly-seasoned cast iron skillet I was about to clean. Didn’t need an answer then! There aren’t that many cast iron skillets around that look as good as his. Slick, nice satiny sheen, not a thing sticking to it. It was perfect. It reminded me of the ones my grandmothers used to have.

Anyway, here is the recipe for the dip. It will suddenly become one of those keepers that you turn to for many events. One of the things I found out quickly is that Bradley didn’t state what size bottle of Frank’s he used. I don’t know, maybe there is only one size. I had a large bottle (12 ounces) and poured half the bottle in, but once mixed it seemed to have a little too much kick for me. I just softened some more cream cheese and added it in. That took care of the problem. You might want to add a little at a time, though, if you can’t handle the hotter version.

Bradley's chicken dip

1 pkg. (pound) chicken tenders

1/2 cup Italian dressing (I used fat-free)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 bottle of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce

Marinate chicken tenders in Italian dressing for a few hours. Remove from marinade. Heat olive oil in skillet, add chicken and sauté until done, but not crispy. Remove from skillet and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled, shred tenders with a fork. In large bowl, mix cheeses and hot sauce together. Microwave until melted; add chicken. Mix together until well blended. Serve with your favorite dipping crackers.

Baby Boy Blue Punch

1 quart Sprite or 7-Up (I used Sprite Zero)

1 64 ounce bottle white cranberry juice

1 pkg. unsweetened blueberry Kool-Aid

3/4 – 1 cup sugar (taste preference)

1 quart vanilla ice cream

Make sure all drinks are very cold.
Mix drinks, Kool-Aid and sugar together in punch bowl until sugar has dissolved. Scoop ladles of vanilla ice cream on top to float. Serve.