I love the festive holiday season and all the old traditional recipes that get dusted off every Nov. and Dec. I mean how many of us make pumpkin pie, carrot pudding, or even sugar cookies very often. Only during the holidays do I make these wonderful recipes. There is something about bringing out the Christmas lights that sends me into a frenzy of cooking. I want to make it all. You should see the stack of recipes I’ve ripped out of every food mag I take. If all goes as planned, we Clawson’s should gain about 32 lbs. each this month from all the food I want to make. Hopefully not, but today is going to be a good start. I made the season starter Cheese Ball.

I remember as a kid the week before Christmas was just so dang exciting. My mom would spend all day in the kitchen making the foods that made Christmas, Christmas at our home. I love wrapping licorice caramels, packing up ice cream buckets of Cracker Jack popcorn, and smelling the wonderful smell of Praline Pecans. One extra special treat my mom would make was a Velveeta Cheese Log. At my home as a kid Velveeta was a staple. I remember when J first saw this he whispered in my ear that he never knew anyone actually ate Velveeta. He said he thought is was only fish bait. Wrong-o buddy. We loved it! A Velveeta Cheese Log was wonderful. My mom would make a really big one and then cut it in half and give one to our favorite family friends and we’d get to eat the other one the week between Christmas and New Year. Velveeta Cheese Log took patience. You had to roll the cheese out thin, spread cream cheese, chili sauce, chopped olive, and green chili’s on top and then roll it up cinnamon roll style. It was pretty to cut into. We slurped it up every year. My brother Marc still makes it every year. I need to, I’m just lazy sometimes.

I do love to make a good cheese ball though. J loves cheese and crackers and he loves having a few of these cheese balls in the fridge when he comes home from a loooongg day of Christmas baking himself. He’ll open the fridge and take one look at it and sigh and then tell me I’m the best wife, and he loves my stinking guts. It doesn’t take much to make him happy.

There’s no real rhyme or reason to this cheese ball. Just add what you like. I love blue cheese so my cheese ball always has blue cheese in it. It always needs some kind of onion, and something sweet, but other than that, just think of the possibilities. I’ll post the ingredients I use, but please improvise. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cheese ball that wasn’t loved. So here’s to the kick off of the season. Enjoy it and the snow!

Cheese Ball Lisa Style

2- 8oz. packages cream cheese

1/2 -1 c. blue cheese crumbles

1 c. yellow shredded cheese

4 chopped green onions

1/2 c. crushed pineapple

Beat all the ingredients together until smooth and combined. Divide the mixture into 2 and roll each dollop of cheese mixture in chopped pecans or other favorite nuts. The cheese is kind of soft at this point, but it will set up a little stiffer as it rests in the fridge. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Some other options may be: green and red bell peppers chopped for Christmas color. Cherries instead of pineapple. Different cheeses or add some dill or basil. Use what you have, and you’ll be supprised at what you make.