Easy Cheeseball

Happy New Year!  A few days late.  We had this for our NYE party, just our little fam here at the house.  I'm not sure if the kids appreciate a good cheeseball like the adults do.  Still, a lot of this got eaten.  I made half the recipe (2 blocks of cream cheese), making one bigger cheeseball.  It was so good with all kinds of crackers.  Feel free to add your own spices and seasonings to this. 

Easy Cheeseball
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
this is a half-recipe

2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened (can use Neufchatel)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I use coarsely ground pepper)
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped for rolling

1.  Place finely chopped pecans in a shallow dish and set aside. In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cheddar cheese and mix until just combined. Lightly sprinkle all the seasonings and sauces over the cheese mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.

2.  With lightly greased hands, portion the cheese mixture into two pieces (or one, if you want a larger cheeseball) and roll each section into a round ball. Coat in pecans. One easy way to do this is to hold the cheeseball in one hand and scoop up the pecans and press them onto the cheeseball with the other, turning the cheeseball as you go and letting the excess pecans fall back into the dish (this also helps the pecans to go a little further).

3.  Cover each cheeseball in saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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