Easy Peasy Cheeseball

Cheeseball is a family favorite around the holidays.  It's super simple and taste worlds better than store-bought cheeseballs.

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese

2 1/2 oz. - 4 oz. finely grated cheddar cheese or colby jack (more for a firmer cheeseball, less for a softer one)

1/8 tsp. liquid smoke

2 T. dried chopped chives or chopped olives optional

chopped walnuts or pecans (or just some more grated cheese if you have allergies)

crackers like Wheat Thins, Triscuits, or Ritz crackers, or our new fave Mary's Gone Crackers

1. I place the 8 oz. block of cream cheese in my glass oatmeal bowl. (Use at least a four cup capacity bowl.)
2. Poke a finger hole about 1/2 inch into the cream cheese. 
3. Pour the liquid smoke in the hole.
4. Sprinkle the chopped chives or olives over the cream cheese.
5. Grate the cheese directly into the bowl.
6. Squish it all up until the ingredients are pretty evenly distributed throughout. 
7. Shape it into a ball. Coat it with chopped walnuts.
8. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge.  

Place 8 oz. cream cheese in a 1 qt. bowl.  Poke a finger hole about 1/2 inch into the cream cheese.  (I made a cheeseball right before this one.  That's why the bowl isn't washed out.)

Pour 1/8 tsp. to 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke in the hole.  If you pour too much, just use a corner of a paper towel to soak some up.  I probably have 1/2 teaspoon here, but we don't mind it strong.  ;)

Grate the cheese directly into the bowl on the cream cheese.

Squish it all up until ingredients are evenly distributed.  I use my hands 9/10 times.  It works much better than a wooden spoon.

You might need more cheese if you want a bigger cheeseball.

So grate more on top and then squish it up again.

Shape in a ball and roll in more grated cheese or chopped nuts.
We typically use walnuts, but we like pecans too.

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge until time to eat.  I usually hide it.  Everyone in my family loves it and past experiences have shown that it won't survive until party time whole if they know it's there.

Enjoy!