The New Year and Olive Feta Cheese Ball

 Okay, Christmas is over.

Now it's time to focus on bringing in the New Year.

You are going to want to produce some of the best 

finger foods

and appetizers...

Here is a cheese ball that I created just for that purpose.

Olives and feta go hand-in-hand, correct?

That's what I thought....

So, I put together this olive and feta cheese ball.

But I didn't leave it at just olives and feta,

I also rolled it in real bacon....

BACON!! 

Everything is better with bacon, right?

And the bacon along with the salty olive and feta is perfect.

This is awesome smeared on your favorite cracker.

I served mine with bagel chips.

Yum, yum, yummmmy!

The crackers shown above are Ritz Garden Vegetable.

Olive Feta Cheese Ball

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, soft

2 TBS mayonnaise

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 (8 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese (your choice of flavors)

1/2 c. minced onion

1 c. chopped green olives

1 package Real Bacon pieces

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Mix in feta cheese crumbles, onion, and olives (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the whip attachment). Once everything is mixed together, form into a ball shape. Cover and chill in refrigerator for about 3 hours. Remove from fridge and roll in real bacon pieces (I purchased the real bacon in the dressing isle).

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday

Holiday Cheese Log Recipe

 What a wonderful holiday appetizer.

This is so simple and can be thrown together in minutes.

Packed full of flavor, it is sure to please any crowd.

This recipe comes from a faithful reader of A'lil Country Sugar:

Mary Howard

I'm so glad she sent me this recipe, because it was a huge hit

at my Thanksgiving dinner.

And my (soon to be) daughter-in-law even used it to spread

on her panini sandwich before grilling.....

She made herself a fabulous lunch with this cheese log.

 All you have to do is throw all ingredients into your Kitchen Aid mixer

bowl, attach the paddle, and mix for a few minutes.

After mixing, take it out with your hands and shape into a log.

Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy..... 

 I rolled mine in the leftover pecans.

I couldn't get a photo of the log being rolled because my hands were all messy.

But I sprinkled the pecans on a piece of saran and rolled.

You can use the same piece of saran to wrap around the log to place in the fridge.

Serve with your favorite crackers.

Holiday Cheese Log

1 pkg. cream cheese, soft

3-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I suggest staying on the low side of the 5)

1/2 tsp. cayanne pepper

1/2 c. pecans, finely chopped

Blend all together using only 1/4 c. of pecans, and roll into a log. Roll the log in the remaining pecans. Chill and serve with crackers.

This recipe linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday Daily Dish