Rosanne's top-secret cheese ball
Why I Love This Recipe
My MIL makes this every year around Christmas time. She orginally got the recipe from a woman she worked with (some 15 years ago!) and was sworn to secrecy. Then one day I saw a recipe in my newspaper - it had many of the ingredients I knew were in her version but it didn't appear to be an exact replica. I made it (secretly) just like Rosanne's, using only the items I had picked out through years of tasting - left out a couple of things from the newspaper version and added a couple and wouldn't you know - it was a dead ringer for her "secret cheese ball". It was with great glee that I let her taste the finished version...LOL I then sent it out to all my Bakespace friends in Christmas cards!
Ingredients You'll Need
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups chopped walnuts, divided
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
2 TBS minced onion
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, well-drained
1/4 tsp. each: salt and pepper
Directions
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese w/ 1 cup walnuts, green peopper, onion, garlic powder, pineapple, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Form mixture into a large ball (or a couple smaller ones). Roll cheese ball in the remaining walnuts. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Serve with buttery-style crackers.
