CHEESEBALL
When I was about 8 like many little girls I was lucky enough (eh luck probably isn't the right word, but it's what I've got) to be a flower girl and to be honest I don't have a ton of memories from the wedding. Of my limited memories two things stick out the most 1) Torturing my cousin by threatening to throw the flowers at the guests in a fit of rage (I know what you're thinking and yes I was a lovely little angel) and 2) Getting introduced to one of my all time favorite foods, cheese ball. Oh that marriage may not have stood the test of time, but my love of cheese ball endures to this day and thanks to my years of unending devotion I have become quite the expert at making these things.
So in the time-honored tradition of sharing the love I have decided to pass along my recipe so you too can become a cheese ball loving creep.
The things you'll need:
Cream Cheese
Budding Corned Beef
Budding Beef
Salami
Green Onions
A chopper
A big bowl
*You'll probably notice I didn't give exact amounts for anything and that is because they will vary based on how big of a cheese ball you want to make. My rule of thumb is buy the same amount of Budding meat and cream cheese, so if you buy 3 pack of corned beef you'll also buy 3 packs of beef and 3 blocks of cream cheese.
* Also the Budding meat just happens to be what they sell in my area, but I know there are different brands with similar products. Oh and yes beef and corned beef are different meats (see pic below Beef is blue and Corned Beef is green), but in a pinch you can just use all of either one you find just remember to double the amount you buy.
How to assemble:
Before you start anything you want to take your cream cheese out for at least about 30 mins to let it soften up. This makes it much easier to work with later.
Grab you chopper and run all of your meats through being careful when you get to the salami because the longer it goes in the chopper the mushier it will get. The salami will have a different texture than the other meats once chopped but that's fine it should. As you chop toss your meat in a large bowl.
The last thing you need to chop is the green onions and this is the only thing in this super simple recipe that is even the tiniest bit tricky because you need to strike the right balance of green onions in your cheese ball, if you have too few it will be slightly bland and if you have too many it will taste purely of onion. The best way to decide whats right is by taste, but over years and years of trial and error I have found that for a cheese ball using 3 pkgs of cream cheese three to four thin green onions (like mine in the pic above) or two to three larger green onions are a perfect amount. Don't stress about getting it right though as long as you don't use the entire bunch of green onions you should be fine and also don't forget to take into account the flavour of the onions will get stronger as the cheese ball cools.
Once you have everything chopped up and in a bowl you can add your pkgs of cream cheese in and start mixing them together. If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer you can use it for this, but if not the best way to do this is with clean hands. Mix until you see everything blending together and you don't find chunks of just meat or cream cheese. The better mixed it is the better it will taste.
When everything is blended scoop the contents out onto a plate or you could even use some kind of mold and make the cheese ball in to your desired shape. Then place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour, but remember the longer it chills the more the flavors mix and the better it will taste.
And that is all folks! You can serve this up with some crackers or my personal favorite wheat thins and you have yourself one killer appetizer. I hope you enjoy it and let me know in the comments if you've ever tried cheese ball and if so how it was made.
Enjoy!
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