French Quarter Cheese Ball

I was never a big fan of cheese balls with pecans or any nut for that matter until I had this at a Christmas party several years ago and it has been a favorite of mine ever since.This cheese ball is a combination of sweet and savory and I love the saltiness the roasted salted pecans add.
If you are still looking for an appetizer for your New Years Eve party try this one. You will make your guests very happy!

Take one 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature.

Add 1/2 -1 tsp minced garlic and 1 Tbsp finely chopped onion. Stir to combine.

Spread out onto a plate fairly thin about 1/2 inch thick.

 Cover and refrigerate.

In a skillet melt 4 Tbsp butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 1/2 tsp honey mustard.

This is the honey mustard I use.

Don't boil, just so the butter is melted and everything stirred together.

Add 1 cup chopped roasted salted pecans. If you can't find the roasted salted pecans, you can make your own by toasting them in a skillet with a little butter and a sprinkling of salt.

Pour over cream cheese and spread to cover. Keep refrigerated but let it come to room temperature before serving.

This is the reason you want to spread your cream cheese out thin on your plate. You want to get some of that delicious topping on every bite.

French Quarter Cheese Ball

8 oz cream cheese softened

1 tsp minced garlic. I use a little less.

1 Tbsp finely chopped onion

Mix together and spread on a plate about 1/2 inch thick.

Cover and refrigerate.

Topping:

 4 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp honey mustard

Melt butter, add sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and honey mustard. Don't boil, just so it's melted and combined.

Add 1 cup chopped roasted salted pecans.

Pour over cream cheese and spread to cover. Keep refrigerated but let it soften approximately 1 hour before serving.

Serve with assorted crackers.

printablerecipe
Linking to:
Foodie Friday
Clever Chicks
StoneGable
Mealtime Monday

Snow and Birds!!

Winter storm Euclid which has affected a large portion of our country moved through Ohio today giving us our first major snow of the season. By the way......since when are they naming snow storms like they do hurricanes?

 Fortunately I had the day off and was able to enjoy it from the comfort of my home. I like snow on days like this, but tomorrow when I have to get out and drive in it, it's not so pretty anymore!

What it looked like this morning.

By mid afternoon we had 5 or 6 inch's and it's still falling.

But the best thing about snow days is all the birds that come to feed.

Tufted Titmouse

Striking the perfect pose. They are among my favorite bird to photograph but I don't know how many pictures I take only to have them come up empty or a blur because they have flitted away.

Like this:)

Carolina Wren

A Female Cardinal stops by for a drink.

 

Male Cardinals are easy to spot when the ground is covered with snow and the tree's are bare.

House Finch

Black-Capped Chickadee

Junco

American Goldfinch

I counted at least 17 birds in this tree but there might have been more.

I think these were all House Finches.

Just before dusk I loved how the Christmas Tree lights reflected through the window.

Have a great week and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours......

Welcome to our Holiday Home

I enjoy seeing how other people decorate at Christmas and have been visiting a lot of other house tours on-line. Here is a little peek into mine.

It's been a busy and eventful year so I decided simpilicity was the way to go and decorate with what I had on hand and my goal was to spend $0.00. 

Lets start outside on the front porch........

 I've been looking for an old sled and was thrilled my mom had keep this one from my childhood. She was happy to get it out of her basement and I am even happier to give it a new home. The ice-skates were from my teen-age years. Oh the memories these two items bring back.

Stars always remind me of one of my favorite Christmas songs 'Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem'.

Now come on inside.

I love my little birdhouse pencil tree. I just added some burlap ribbon to give it a different look from other years.

These vases and candles were left over from the wedding. I've been wanting to do an all white mantle but didn't have enough white to work with so this was the best I could come up with.

I do love the old window frame though.

Same tree as last year with the addition of hydrangeas I had left over from the wedding.

Playing around with bokeh. My first so don't judge too harshly please:)

Christmas Tree Bokeh

I love chalkboards. My niece made this one for me.

The only thing I bought was burlap and these little birds. The burlap doesn't really count as money spent because I'll use it all year.

The birds were intended for the tree but they never made it there. I might have spent 5 or 6 dollars on them so I came close to my goal. Oh, and the epsom salt for my jars so I probably spent 10.00. Still happy with that!

I dug out some old kitchen tools and used them in my decor.

Thank You for taking time to visit our home and I want to wish

everyone a Blessed Christmas!

Linking to Jennifer Rizzo