Today I went to a friend's housewarming/birthday party and I volunteered to bring my famous in my own family Cheese Balls. Not only are these cheese balls better then any pre-made ones in the store, they're super simple and get better as each day progresses if by some slim chance you have leftovers. Actually, in my family, if we don't have leftovers, sometimes I will make more the next day to give out. It's that good.
I can't remember why I decided to make a cheese ball the first time, other then the fact, I love cheese and I love balls. I found my recipe on allrecipes.com. I love this site due to the recipe reviews. Before pinterest scouring allrecipes is what I did to kill time.
This is the link to the original recipe in case you want to see the recipe prior to my changes.
Leiha's Easy Peasy Cheesy Balls
Ingredients2 (8 oz) pkgs of cream cheese
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (1 oz) pkg of ranch dressing mix
1/2 bunch of chopped green onion
1 package of bacon
Directions
In order for the flavors to properly meld, make the balls at least a night ahead of time.
In a mixer combine cream cheese (easier if softened) and ranch dressing mix. Once mixed add the cheddar cheese (1 pkg of shredded cheese says 2 cups but usually 2 1/2 cups so dump the whole pkg in) and chopped green onion. Once everything is mixed divide in half and I usually drop it in saran wrap and wrap around the cheese to form into a ball and seal. Refrigerate.
You can cook and chop the bacon ahead of time or the morning of. I don't add the bacon to the ball until an hour or so before serving so that the bacon stays crispy. Just roll the cheese ball around in the chopped bacon until covered. One package should cover both balls.
Put the cheese ball out about a half hour early so that it can soften. My family prefers to use wheat thins with them. Today we had some pita chips that also worked wonderfully. You definitely need a stronger cracker or chip when eating this.
This recipe is flexible. If we have a vegetarian I won't add bacon to one or wrap in pecans. My sister doesn't like onions so I don't add that to one (that one I make smaller). This recipe is my optimum version. I've messed with trying to add more cheddar, that doesn't work. My nephew made it once with double the ranch, don't do that either, LOL.
FYI, there were no leftovers tonight and several people asked for the recipe. Your friends and family will love and have no idea how easy the recipe is.
Here's a turkey bacon one I made for Thanksgiving. The little ball was an onionless one for my sister.
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