Tag: sharp cheddar cheese

A New and Better Egg Salad

Welcome to November! I find it hard to believe that we are in the final 2 months of 2016! The year has just flown by! We are finally seeing fall colors here in the South, but our temperatures are still summery. We’ve had temps over 80 degrees every day for the last 2 weeks or so, and more are ahead this week! And it is so very dry! We’ve not had significant rainfall since July.

Before I share my creation for a new and better egg salad, let me share some news! My oldest son and his wife are now home owners! We are thrilled for them! There is quite a bit of work to be done before they can actually move in, but many hands make light work, and we are all doing what we can to help them on this journey!

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And, of course, I simply must add a new picture of my sweet little grandman. I can’t wait to squeeze him at Thanksgiving!

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Last Saturday morning the ladies of our church prepared a great breakfast for the men who had been having a special service. I enjoyed working with friends to make the breakfast happen! We had very little left over when the 70 men were finished, but there were some bacon bits, grated cheddar cheese and chopped hard-cooked eggs. I decided that they could be used to make sandwiches for the church-wide fellowship we were having on Sunday evening. When I told my youngest son what I planned to make, he said that it sounded pretty good!

I don’t know amounts because I didn’t measure the ingredients, but I will give estimates.

  • about 2 cups chopped hard-cooked eggs
  • about 1-1/2 c. chopped cooked bacon
  • 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
  • mayonnaise–just enough to moisten the ingredients and hold them together
  • salt to taste

Mix all these ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Spread on Wasa crackers for a great THM lunch!  I used a good wheat bread and made sandwiches for our church supper. My youngest son said that they were just amazing! I think that we have a new egg salad recipe that I will probably use from now on!

4-Cheese-Bacon-Ranch Cheese Ball

Last weekend we took a whirlwind trip to see my sister and her family for Easter. I don’t know when my sis and I were last together on this special day! I do know it has been years.  She was blessed to have had ALL 5 of her children, their spouses (the 4 who are married), and all 7 of her grands with her!!  Isn’t this a beautiful family?

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Yes, I do realize that the name of this recipe is quite a mouthful! I was trying to figure out the best name for my cheese ball and didn’t want to leave any part out. So, this is what I came up with!

Believe it or not, I had never made a cheese ball until this week. Not ever. My mom never made one, as far as I know, and we only ate them during the Christmas season, so I usually bought one.  However, a few weeks ago, a friend asked me to make one for a bridal shower. I did some searching on Pinterest and on the internet and found several that I thought would do, but none of them seemed to be just right.  So, as I often do, I created my own! This is the Cookbook Experiment, after all, you know!  Anyway, the ball was a hit at the shower (and the hubby gave it his approval, too)!

16 oz. softened cream cheese

3 wedges of spreadable garlic & onion cheese (I get mine at Aldi)

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz. finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 to 2/3 c. crumbled  cooked bacon

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

powdered garlic and onion to taste if you want a little more flavor

1-1/2 c. chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cheeses, bacon, ranch dressing, and spices. Mix well until very creamy.

Spread chopped pecans on a piece of plastic wrap.  Shape cheese into a ball and roll in the pecans until fully covered, pressing the nuts into the cheese.  Gently lift ball and place into a bowl about the same size as the cheese ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 2-1/2 hours.  Serve with your favorite crackers!

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This recipe is fine for my hubby to eat on his diet plan as long as he uses the Wasa crackers instead of traditional crackers. Yay!!