Football Cheeseball With Herbed Crackers Recipes

FOOTBALL CHEESE BALL

Steps:

• Mix together the cream cheese, shredded Cheddar, green onion, Worcestershire sauce, and taco seasoning mix in a large bowl. Press the cheese mixture into a ball, turn it out onto a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Use the plastic wrap to press the cheese ball into the shape of a football by flattening the ball and rounding each end. Place the cheese football on a plate, arrange the strips of American cheese like laces on the top of the cheese football. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Remove the cheese ball from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

HERB & GARLIC CHEESEBALL

Steps:

• In a large bowl using a hand held mixer or stand mixer, add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add the goat cheese and mix together with cream cheese until well blended.
• Add the herbs, dill, basil, rosemary, and chives and mix together. Lay plastic wrap on top of the inside of a smaller bowl completely covering the inside of the bowl leaving the excess plastic wrap hanging off the bowl. Use a rubber spatula and scoop the cheese mixture into the bowl.
• Once all the cheese has been added, take the ends of plastic wrap and cover the exposed cheese wrapping the entire mixture. Turn the wrapped cheese to the countertop and use your hands to form into a perfectly sized ball. Place inside the refrigerator for, at least, 2 hours.
• Turn the ball onto a serving platter and remove the plastic wrap. Garnish the ball by sprinkling with dill and parsley leaves, if desired. Serve with crackers.

FOOTBALL CHEESEBALL WITH HERBED CRACKERS

Steps:

• Combine the cream cheese, Cheddar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and shallots in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap, cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap and form into a football shape. Wrap up in the plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Combine the butter, rosemary and thyme in a small bowl and microwave until melted.
• Lay the crackers out on two baking sheets. Brush the tops with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the herb butter. Bake until fragrant and a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to eat. (The crackers can be made up to 2 days ahead.)
• Toss the walnuts with the remaining herb butter and arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then finely chop.
• Unwrap the cheese ball and cover completely with the walnuts. Transfer to a serving dish. Separate the string cheese into strands and arrange them to look like the laces on a football. Serve with the herbed crackers and crudites.

HERBED CHEESE-AND-CRACKER BITS

Steps:

• Place the crackers in a large sealable freezer container.
• In a bowl, mix the oil, salad dressing mix, dill, garlic powder, and celery salt.
• Pour this mixture over the crackers, cover the container, and invert it to coat the crackers with seasoning.
• Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, turning the container every so often to keep the crackers coated.
• Let the mixture come to room temperature before serving.
• Store in the covered container in refrigerator.