cheese balls

Football season is upon us. My family happens to be serious BYU fans. This means we all gather at the grandparents to watch the games together. This first game against Ol' Miss was actually quite boring until the 2nd half. But the best thing about going to watch is that I get to make something to take along!

I saw this recipe on one of our favorite cooking blogs the-girl-who-ate-everything.com. It is delicious. I served it with apples and graham crackers.



Peanut Butter "Cheese Ball"
from my friend Jenni; adapted from Nestle

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
Graham cracker sticks, teddy grahams, and/or apple slices for dipping

Directions:
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until blended.

Spoon onto a large piece of plastic wrap; bring up all four corners and twist tightly forming into a ball shape.

Freeze for 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm enough to keep its shape. Place peanut butter and chocolate chips in flat dish. Remove plastic wrap from ball and roll ball into morsels to completely cover, pressing morsels into the ball if necessary.

Place ball on serving dish; cover and freeze for 2 hours or until almost firm. (Can be made ahead. If frozen overnight, thaw at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.) Serve with graham cracker sticks, teddy grahams, or apple slices for

Another new cheese ball that I tried yesterday for a work party and made again for the football game is a Feta Cheese Ball. We paired it with crackers at work, but someone made a comment that it would go well as a veggie dip too, so I brought veggies tonight. My sister and I both think that it would be great on sandwiches, pitas especially (from Allrecipes.com)

Feta Cheese Ball (makes 2)

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 green onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Directions

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, feta cheese, olive oil, green onions and garlic. Season with dill, oregano and pepper. Mix well, and form into 2 balls. Cover, and chill for 2 hours.

Can you believe it? I didn't take any pictures!