Green Chile Cheese Ball

This mouth-watering appetizer is ideal for any party, from Super Bowl Sunday to book club meetings. Awe your friends with this Southwestern-style cheese ball! Place on a nice serving dish with an assortment of crackers (I believe that Wheat Thins go the best with this dish).

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Calories: 293 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups finely chopped pecans
• 4 large Anaheim chile peppers
• 1 ½ pounds shredded pepper jack cheese

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. Cook chiles on the preheated grill until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the peppers, or the skin will not come off easily. Turn the peppers often to cook evenly. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Once cool, remove the skins and seeds. Chop the peppers.

Step 2

Combine the chopped peppers with the pepper jack, cream cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form the the mixture into a ball and place on a plate covered with wax paper. Place the cheese ball in the freezer until very cold, about 15 minutes.

Step 3

Spread the chopped pecans on a large cutting board or baking sheet. Roll the frozen cheese ball in the pecans. Use your hand to pack any areas that are not covered by pecans, making sure the entire outside of the cheese ball is covered with a nice layer of pecans.