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this is my own version of my mom’s christmas cheese ball that everyone seems to love so much. super easy to make and super good. not exactly super cheap, but it’s christmas… so who cares?

ingredients

• 16-18 ounces cream cheese
• 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 5-7 chopped chives
• 2-3 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 jar armour dried beef

instructions

chop up the chives (i don’t use the root part that’s all white, and my mom says not to use the outer layer of stalk) and dried beef into small pieces. my mom says scissors work well for this, but i like using a big knife. once you do that, throw everything into a mixing bowl and mix it up with your hands. make sure you get it mixed up very well, because you don’t want some poor, unsuspecting party goer to have their taste buds assaulted by a pocket of garlic powder or something.

then just use your hands to shape it into a ball or a christmas tree or whatever you like. then just plop it on a plate and cover it with plastic wrap. stick it in the refrigerator and let it sit there for about 24 hours or so to ripen. it’s usually a good idea to let it sit out for a few minutes to kind of soften up before serving it. i usually serve mine with a box of ritz crackers and a box of soda crackers or whatever those things are. i imagine it’d be good on almost anything though… triscuits or wheat thins or whatever you happen to like.

anyway, this is just how i like it… you can make it your own by adding or removing little things. sometimes i’ll add a half a teaspoon or so of onion powder and go a little lighter on the chives. i’ve seen some people roll the finished ball in finely chopped nuts. or you can replace the dried beef with smoked salmon or just leave it out for your vegetarian friends. lots of possibilities, so experiment a little bit and send me the recipe if you discover something good.