Zesty Cheese Ball

I’ve had this recipe for many years. It looks like Granny Kate wrote it so it’s been around for years. She was born in 1917 but naturally it wasn’t passed to me that long ago. There are several ingredients but the directions are simple- cream together, add, stir in and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons spicy mustard
  • Dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 ounces prepared cheese spread
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese, finely grated
  • 2 cups deviled ham
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 2 green onions, finely sliced
  • ¼ cup green bell pepper, finely diced, can use red or yellow bell pepper too
  • 2 radishes, diced
  • ½ cup peanuts, chopped

    Instructions:

    In a large bowl, cream together first 4 ingredients. Add next 8 ingredients and stir to combine. Form cheese into a ball. Roll in peanuts until the outside of the ball is completely covered. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Serve with crackers or toast points.

    Cooking Wiser:
    Use low fat cream cheese and cheddar cheese
    Can omit ham for vegetarian option
    Place a piece of plastic wrap on counter and turn the cheese ball mixture onto the plastic. Use the plastic to roll the mixture into a ball, add the peanuts and roll the ball around to coat. Then you can wrap the plastic around the ball to refrigerate- easy cleanup.

    Make it your own
    Use any of your favorite nuts to roll the cheese ball in like pecans or sliced almonds
    If you are allergic to nuts roll the cheese ball in fresh minced herbs such as dill or cilantro