Oh 1950s, how you dazzled us with your strange recipes, most of which in encased in some form of savory jello. Some of the aforementioned jello dishes were sweet and pretty tasty-looking, others…not so much. It wasn’t strange to find any number of savory ingredients floating in tomato aspic; molds in the shape of fish, containing fish, were actually considered commonplace! Yes, the ‘50s was the age of young Elvis, malt shops and jiggly dinners – and we really wanted to try our hands at recreating one of those awesome(ly disgusting!) vintage jello recipes…check it out!

Shrimp Jello Salad

Serves 6-8

3-4 hours

Ingredients
  • 10 oz. cocktail shrimp (2 cups)
  • 1 (8.75 oz.) can corn, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, peas, etc.), cooked according to package directions
  • 1 (1 oz.) box unflavored gelatin (2 tablespoons)
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup water
Preparation
  1. Heat chicken broth in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer.
  2. Sprinkle gelatin in a small bowl filled with 1/4 cup water and let rest 5 minutes until softened, then pour into simmering chicken broth.
  3. Once fully combined and dissolved, remove broth from heat and refrigerate until chilled and syrupy, about 1 hour.
  4. Pour into a 2-quart mold, then add cocktail shrimp, corn and mixed vegetables to syrupy gelatin mixture.
  5. Refrigerate until fully set. 2-4 hours.
  6. When ready to serve, unmold and invert jello salad onto serving platter.

Recipe adapted from Vintage Recipe Cards

Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing