How about a savory one today?
In my family, this recipe is known simply as Anele's Famous Cheeseball. Others have tried and they've not followed my recipe and then wondered why it didn't taste as good. I can tell them why over and over and they still refuse to buy all of the ingredients for some reason.
Lucky for you, you can grab all of the ingredients, dump them in a bowl, stir and let the raves come in for...
Now, you'll have to excuse me because I didn't take pics of the process because I wasn't planning on posting this but I know you guys are smart and can follow directions. ;-)
Here's what you'll need for a gathering of about 15 people with a little leftover if people don't snarf it all down in gluttony.
4 8 ounce blocks of Neufchatel (33% less fat) cream cheese, softened
1 packet Hidden Valley ORIGINAL Ranch powder (DON'T get the dip packet)
2 bunches scallions, diced
3 packages thin pressed beef, diced into squares (ie: Carl Buddig in the packaged lunchmeat section. Should be SUPER cheap pricewise like two for $1 or $.70 if not on sale, not a deli style lunchmeat)
1 box of your favorite crackers, I use Ritz
This recipe is best made the night before so all of the flavors can marinate overnight.
In a large bowl combine the softened cream cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch powder, two bunches of diced scallions (everything but the roots. This is important, this is the ingredient my family always skips then wonders why it doesn't taste the same!) and three packages of cubed thin pressed beef.
Mix until it's all combined making sure you don't have any "bare" spots with the ingredients. If you're making it the night before, cover with foil and refrigerate until you need it the next day.
Transfer the mixture to a platter and shape into a ball. Just before serving, circle the cheeseball with crackers, put a cute little knife in the ball and let everyone go to town.
After you taste test for quality assurance, of course.
Want another use for this? Spread it all over a tortilla, roll it up, cut it in 1 1/2" slices and make cream cheese pinwheels. They're pretty flippin' good as well!
For those needing a visual, the pressed beef should look like this:
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This is it folks. This is THE one you are going to get praise for from all your friends and families at parties. But just like she says, make sure you get the scallions. They really make the difference. And honestly I think the lower fat cream cheese just works better for this recipe too somehow. We have had it with the regular cream cheese and it just isn't quite as creamy so stick with the lower fat stuff. Good eats!
ReplyDeleteScallions make all the difference. I don't know why my family never wants to add them. Sometimes they do on occasion but they'll still say it's not as good as mine. (Because I guarantee they're using full fat cream cheese) ;-)
DeleteHow big of blocks of cream cheese? 8oz or the smaller ones?
ReplyDeleteI may try this, but with only 5 of us here for Christmas I need to half the recipe or we will all totally over eat.
Hubby makes something similar with canned deviled ham, but I can't get past the appearance of that. Nice clean sliced ham I can handle.
8 oz blocks. (Updated the recipe) Yeah halving the recipe should work well for that size crowd. My great aunt bought some kind of petrified feed in a jar to use and it was cured so it tasted like a salt lick. So no canned beef. I updated with a pic at the bottom just so no one made the same faux pas. LOL
DeleteOh this looks marvelous! I've had "chipped beef" dip before, but I never thought to put sliced beef like this in a cheese ball! I'm definitely going to give this a try. Thanks for another treat!
ReplyDeleteOhhh I really want to try this. Cheese ball! Mmmm!
ReplyDelete