Jack O' Lantern Cheese Ball

(Or just a Cheese Ball!) I hosted a Halloween Party fit for toddlers yesterday. This little guy turned out so cute! This is a recipe from my Step Mother In Law, and it's my go to Cheese Ball Recipe. For occasions other than Halloween, I roll it in Chopped Pecans.
2 (8 oz) blocks of Cream Cheese, softened
1 (4.5 oz) jar of Dried Beef (see note)
Bunch of Green Onions, finely chopped. I used 4 large ones, white and green
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
* For this party, I rolled it in finely shredded mild cheddar cheese. The face is Black Olives and the stem is a small, whole Dill Pickle*

Mix all ingredients and form a ball. Roll in desired Cheese, or Chopped Pecans, or Walnuts. Serve with assortment of Crackers, Veggies etc.

*Note~ Dried Beef  I thought what the heck is dried beef? and it sounds so gross. Don't let it scare you! I found it in the isle with all the canned meats (think tuna). It was in a small, clear jar, and it's like dried, thinly sliced summer sausage. It's delicious in this cheese ball.

Burger Throw down!!

Last weekend, my husband's work friends came over for a BURGER THROW DOWN!

It was so much fun, and such good food - there were all kinds of burgers... but our camera was (always is) on the fritz ~ so I am posting the pictures that are actually focused.

There were burgers stuffed with portobello mushrooms, sauteed white onion and marscapone cheese (one of my favorites...)

Another burger was blended with steak sauce and smeared with a jalapeno ranch secret sauce and topped with spicy pepper relish and sat on a hawaiian bread sandwich roll.

The winning burger (I know, I can't believe I didn't get a good picture of it) was made with ground rib-eye, smeared with a horseradish cream sauce and topped with sauteed mushrooms and swiss cheese. The rib-eye was so rich and delicious and the sauteed mushrooms were very flavorful.

I hope these burgers inspire you to make something a little different...

The health-nuts of the group made this one. It was a bison burger - with some dried cranberries in the burger (sounds weird, but was really good), topped with spinach, sprouts, avocado, red onion... They cooked it perfectly, it was very tender.

These were lamb burgers/sliders. Mixed inside the meat was chopped mint and some garlic. They were cooked over a charcoal BBQ instead of the gas grill. Then topped with feta, rosemary and more mint, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The marble rye bread was brushed with olive oil and lemon zest and broiled. Again - cooked perfectly and so many fresh flavors.

This was one of my husbands burgers -- inspired by a Cricket Burger he had on his trip to Denver, CO recently. It was a half pound burger of lean ground beef, seasoned with tapatio sauce, salt & pepper. Then topped with (gulp) cream cheese and fresh diced jalapenos! The spicy hot was cooled by the creamy cream cheese... good job babe!

ok, this is the other burger entry by my husband - inspired by our favorite appetizer at our favorite family restaurant, Outback Steak House.

Again, a half pound burger made with lean ground beef seasoned the same way. Then topped with (drum roll, please!), CHEESE FRIES!! French fries fried to golden perfection (by me), then smoked cheddar and crumbled bacon were piled on top. He popped them under the broiler to melt the cheese a bit... ooohhh -- heart attack on a plate, but so good!