Cheese Ball

Posted by Lori
First of all...thank you so much for visiting "Life's a Bowl of Cherries"! We appreciate you visiting and would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think and what recipes you've enjoyed trying!

Now...on to the recipe for today...
The holidays will be here soon and we'll all be making lots of snacks and treats for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. If I have one food category that is my very favorite to make, it would be appetizers. They are fun to make, but that "snacky" type food is also good to eat! I'll start posting lots of appetizers from now until Thanksgiving that you might enjoy making for your family and for others, too.

I first began making this cheese ball when I was in 9th grade. Home Ec was my favorite class in school and my teacher asked a friend and I to enter an FHA (Future Homemakers of America) contest. We both decided to enter and both of us won with our entries. We were so excited! The original recipe was my mom's cousin's recipe, but I tweaked it a little and made it with ingredients I preferred. The ingredients sound strange, but I think you'll like it when it's all mixed together!

CHEESE BALL
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 flat can crushed pineapple, well drained
2 Tablespoons green chilies (I usually make this and "Tortilla Wrap Ups" at the same time and use the leftover green chilies for that. I'll post that recipe next.)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt - You may want to start out with less and adjust to your taste preferences...plus brands may be different)
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thin sliced ham, finely chopped
1 cup crushed pecans (plus extra to roll ball in)

In mixing bowl, mix together cream cheese and pineapple with electric mixer. Add cheddar cheese, green chilies, celery, ham, and pecans. Mix well. Add seasoned salt (desired amount). Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight (This makes it easier to roll into ball.) Place remaining crushed pecans on waxed paper or plate. Make cheese ball mixture into ball shape and roll in pecans. Place on cheese tray or platter. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with various kinds of crackers.

I have made the cheese ball into two balls. You can freeze one of them to have for later. It's also fun to make the cheese ball into different shapes. Here are some I've done: a snowman, football, and then done individual sized balls...rolling each in pecans.