We are just about a month into our new year’s resolutions, and I for one, am happy that I didn’t make any.   Just listening to all the deprivation and fitness goals was enough for me to say, “the heck with it.”    It seems to me that we are always wanting to change ourselves once a new year is upon us.    Change certainly can be good, but lately I find myself looking backwards to a simpler time or at least that’s how I remember it.   

I find this to be true with cooking as well.  I want to keep it simple most of the time, and I love looking back in my recipe files for such recipes.  When I came upon the recipe I’m going to share today, I was overcome with warm memories.   I can see a young version of myself, enjoying Diane’s crab appetizer in the warmth of her kitchen, with a blonde toddler racing around us in a toy firetruck.  With a pen and index card in hand ( it sounds archaic doesn’t it?), I wrote down her recipe almost 40 years ago.   It has stood the test of time.  It’s delicious and simple to make.  I wouldn’t change a thing.

Recipe:

2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese

1 can (8 ounces) white lump crabmeat

1/3 cup finely minced onion.

garlic powder to taste ( I used 1/4 tsp)

Lemon juice to taste, but at least 1 tablespoon

jar of cocktail sauce

crackers for serving

1. Let cream cheese soften
2. Mix well with the lemon juice, onion, and garlic powder.
3. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
4. When ready to serve, put on plate and top with the crabmeat and then the cocktail sauce.
5. Serve with crackers.
6. Enjoy the simplicity.