Friday, Dec. 21, 2012

Cheese Ball

 

Every year I highly anticipate goodies that our family members send.  I wish I was more organized to send baked goods (maybe next year-let’s see if we can pull off Christmas Dinner first!).  Even though I do a lot of baking on my own, I still enjoy treats from others and more likely to eat them.  My parents went to the Philippines last year after spending some time with my Aunt & Uncle in Alberta before leaving.  When they returned from the Philipines, my Aunt had given them a cheese ball along with a selection of nuts and other goodies to bring home with them.  I immediately stole the cheese ball and shamelessly snuck spoonful’s from the fridge (Yes, I did this! I had no crackers!) until it was gone.

 

I was brainstorming with Marlina appetizers for our Christmas Dinner and immediately thought of this recipe.  I e-mailed my Aunt and she had sent me the recipe within the day (you’re the best!).  I had all the ingredients in my house so I made this right away.  Gavin and I really enjoyed this appetizer (we were giving it a test run before dinner) but again, ran out of crackers.  So now I’m back to sneaking spoonful’s!  Just need to make a grocery run and buy more crackers so I don’t feel so bad eating it by the spoonful!

 

Cheese Ball

Makes 1 large cheese ball

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 tablespoon red pepper

1 tablespoon green pepper

2 tablespoons onion  

1 teaspoons Braggs soy sauce

½ teaspoon Lemon juice

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper to taste

½ cup chopped parsley

½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Shape into a ball or a log. Roll in pecans then with parsley.

Refrigerate until use. Serve with an assortment of crackers.

Source: Aunt Marion J