HALLOWEEN PARTY CHEESE BALL

           

    Halloween is fast approaching, and you are probably still narrowing down what your kid's costumes are going to be, how much candy you are going to need and how many houses are you going to hit up this year!

   The last thing on your mind is throwing a Halloween party, but it doesn't have to be elaborate, or fancy! And even if you have decided against a party, you still need to make this cheese ball! It looks so cute and tastes even better! So instead of binging on candy and chocolate while waiting for the doorbell to ring, you can dig into this delicious cheese ball; whether in your pajamas or in full costume!

   The recipe I used is from the Food Network and you can find it here: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-cheese-ball-recipe-2108927. It is really easy to put together, and the flavours meld really well together, making it a winner for your next Halloween party or for your Halloween night in! I served it with blue corn tortilla chips, but you can easily use crackers. I just think the blue chips give it more of a Halloween touch!

 **(I will include the recipe at the bottom of the page as well!)**

   Even though we are not having a Halloween party this year, it is really fun to decorate and now that my daughter is not afraid of my Halloween decor anymore, (lol), I can start to have a little fun!

   I brought out all my creepy and dark decor and set up an area in our dining room to create a Halloween buffet and to display this adorable pumpkin cheese ball! We have a vintage dresser in our dining room that holds all the odds and ends for whatever we need to throw a party or entertain at home! It was the perfect perch for decorating!

   I used a lace Halloween table runner that I found at the dollar store, for the base. I added some cute black and white pumpkins (also found at the dollar store), filling in spaces with some grey cobweb-looking cloth, candles, tarot cards, rubber spiders and rats, cute Halloween napkins and a little cauldron sign that I made!

   That sign was probably the easiest diy ever! I found the cauldron sign and the "eat, drink and be scary" sign at www.michaels.com, and just glued the words onto the cauldron! Easy and spooky-cute!

   So there you have it! An easy yet scrumptious appetizer for your next Halloween party! Oh, who am I kidding? A cheese ball is good all the time; any day of the week, month, year or season!

   As promised here is the recipe:

   **With a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend 16 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ( I used a nacho blend), 3 Tablespoons minced onion, 2 Tablespoons jarred salsa (mild or medium), 2 teaspoons ground cumin and 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno. 

  
 Scoop the mixture onto plastic wrap and use the wrap to form a 5 inch pumpkin-shaped ball. Chill at least 2 hours or if you are in a hurry, you can put it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.

   Next, take about 2 cups of nacho flavoured tortilla chips and add them to a resealable bag. Close and seal the bag, making sure to let out any air, and then with a rolling pin, crush the chips to a fine consistency.

      You should be left with about 2-3 cups of crumbs, although you probably won't use them all!

   To serve, unwrap the cheese ball and roll it in the crushed nacho chip mixture, all the while pressing the crumbs in and forming a ball shape with your hands. Last thing, is to add a bell pepper stem to the middle of the cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin stem!

    How adorable is that?

    I really hope you give it a try and let me know how it turned out in the comments!
   
   Until next time! ~A



 PRODUCT INFORMATION:

*mini black and white pumpkins and black silk flowers from www.dollartree.com
*lace runner, grey cobweb cloth, tarot cards, rubber spiders/rats, napkins, glass bottle (with flowers),    paper pin wheel decoration from www.dollarama.com
*silver mummy candle holder from www.homesense.ca 
*black craft pumpkin and cauldron sign from  www.michaels.com