Cheddar and Green Chili Cheese Ball

This is the first recipe I tackled in my Thanksgiving preparations.  This decision was based on careful study of my recipes.  I did this because on Sunday, I didn't read them well at all and faced near-disaster before our church potluck.  Not the time you want to present a failed dish, not when friends are asking "which one's yours?"

This is a pretty typical cheese ball, based on what I know of cheese balls.  Go for this one if you love cheddar, I guess.  Here's what you need:

Your weapon of choice for this recipe is the food processor.  This recipe is so easy!

Put the following into the food processor:  2 tablespoons butter, 2 cups shredded cheddar, 8 ounces cream cheese (I'd recommend softening it a bit first; you will see why later), 1/8 tsp. onion powder and 1/8 tsp. garlic powder.

Process until it's all mixed together well.  Here's where I ran into a small snag and had to do some work with the wooden spoon.  My cheese mixture started to form a ball in the food processor.  Not what you want to happen!

Cooking is often not simple for me.  Yet I love it anyway.  In much the same way, I love tennis, Scrabble and Acquire, yet never win them.  I haven't delved too deeply into the psychology of this.

Anyway, finish processing until you've got a smooth cheese mixture.  Then, transfer it to a bowl that you can chill it in.

Add one 4 ounce can diced green chilies, juice and all.  The original recipe only called for 2/3 of a 4-oz can, which I don't like.  So I used to whole can.

Stir together to mix well.  It's easier than it looks.

Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge to chill for an hour.  It looks kind of disgusting now, but that's why we'll roll it in Doritos and cilantro!

You'll need 1/2 cup of Doritos, crushed, and 1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

Overkill?  Perhaps.

Effective?  Definitely.

Now here comes the tricky part.  I'm just killing time, looking for a way to do this without getting my hands really, really dirty.

It's not possible.  I'm goin' in.  Form the still gross- looking cheese mixture into a ball or log or square, whatever your little heart desires. Then set it in the chips/cilantro mix.



Although this small round dish looked nice for the picture, it did make really rolling the cheese ball difficult.  I'd suggest using something without sides.

And here is your final product, the Cheddar and Green Chili Cheese Ball...

To store it and travel with it, get a properly-sized plastic container.  Put wax paper on the lid, put the cheese ball on the wax paper, and top it with what is usually the bottom of the container.  A picture is worth a thousand words in this instance.

This way you can arrive at the party or the meal or wherever you're going, and re-plate this gorgeous cheese ball on a platter more befitting its deliciousness.