Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Southern Made Cheese Ball

Every time I make this, I get rabid requests for the recipe. It's a holiday favorite of mine too. (Also, to give credit where credit is due, I got this recipe from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I use 2 bricks ofNeufchatel--see note)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Creole-style seasoning (shop for one that is not super high in sodium)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham (I am a vegetarian, so I have always left this out)
1 tablespoon creamy salad dressing, e.g. Miracle Whip ™
Topping to roll cheeseball in--chopped pecans, grated cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix by hand, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, green onions, chili powder, Creole-style seasoning, Cheddar cheese, ham and creamy salad dressing. Form the mixture into one or more balls. Roll in topping if desired. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.

Note: Neufchatel cheese is often sold by the bricks of cream cheese. It tastes absolutely the same but is 1/3 the fat. And it doesn't have the weird texture of low-fat cream cheese, either. But I usually make this recipe with 2 bricks Neufchatel, and 1 brick regular cream cheese, just in case.

2 comments:

Jen and Joe. said...

Bring on the cheese balls! It's the best part of the season!

Lesley said...

This recipe really is as good as she says it is. A holiday must-have.