Nacho Cheese Ball….A Perfect Party Appetizer

I have been making my own cheese balls for years….they are easy, way less expensive to make versus buying, and you can create whatever flavors you like. I saw this in one of my favorite magazines (which I’ve been raving about all month), Food Network Magazine (October 2012) issue and I just knew I had to try it.

This is easy to prepare, it does take about 2 hours to chill, and it cost me approximately $6.50 (none of the items I bought were on sale this week so if you catch a sale on cheese, it will be less expensive.) I had used bell pepper earlier in the week so I just kept the pepper stem for this recipe. This is a big cheese ball, very rich and a little goes a long way….it should easily feed about 20 people (as an appetizer).

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 16 oz room-temperature cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
• 3 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 tablespoons salsa
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno
• 1 bell pepper stem
• nacho-flavored tortilla chips, crushed (I used about two handfuls)

With a mixer, blend the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, minced onion, salsa, ground cumin and jalapeno.

Scoop onto plastic wrap and use the wrap to form the mixture into a 5-inch pumpkin-shaped ball. Chill at least 2 hours.

To serve, unwrap, roll in crushed nacho-flavored tortilla chips and press a bell pepper stem into the top. Serve with chips, crackers or veggies.

This is a great appetizer to take to a party or for serving at your own get-together…..you could also serve this in scooped out bell peppers or make mini cheese balls.