My fondue nights and homemade pasta nights are a thing of the past these days…hopefully they will return someday but with my little toddler in tow, I seem to be looking for quick and easy entertaining recipes…this is one of them. What I like about this is it can be made in stages. You can chop the nuts days ahead of time. You can cut and cook the bacon a day ahead or so. Heck, you can even make the whole thing a week before you are going to serve it. In fact, letting it sit ahead of time really allows the flavors to marinate. It is quick to make and tastes good served with cracker or veggies. My favorites are sliced persian cucumbers and Carr’s Cheesy Crackers.
Ingredients:
2 packets of 8 oz cream cheese (I used a reduced fat version)
1 (1oz.) packet of dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 scallions thinly sliced
5 pieces of bacon, chopped into little cubes and fried
1 cup of finely chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Chop nuts and set aside.
2. Cube and fry bacon. Set aside.
3. Mix together the cream cheese and the dry ranch mix in the stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or with a medium size bowl and wooden spoon if you do not have a stand mixer).
4. Add the cheese, scallions and bacon.
5. Shape into a ball.
6. Place chopped nuts on a cutting board and roll it in the nuts to coat the outside.
7. If not going to serve right away then wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge for up to 1 week. I like making this at least a day ahead of time as it allows the flavors to really marinate together.
Recipe adapted from: The Recipe Critic
