Cute Cheese Balls for Fall! (Part #97 of "Playing With Our Food" )



Hello, everybody!! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I know most of you (it seemed like the ENTIRE WORLD) were off playing at the ACFW conference but I've been home.... writing and cooking and writing and cooking.

 

 

 

OK, that's not really accurate. I've been writing and eating and writing and eating. Either way, there's been a lot of writing. But in between those times of writing (and eating) I've been hanging with the fam.

My husband made an awesome fire pit. We saw a few for sale. We saw some nice ideas on Pinterest. But in the end, he broke apart an old BBQ grill and dropped it into a hole. (The hole was prepared with rocks, like we saw on a tutorial) And then he placed slabs of broken concrete around it that were leftover from when he tore up the old patio when we were building on to the house. I don't always love everything hubby does in the yard. (Oh, the stories I could tell!!) But this just tickled me. All repurposed and it was so rustic! We've had a fire almost every night since and we're using up all the old storm debris from last spring. Bonus!

 Well, we ate about 3/4 of a box of apples and they started to get bruised. So... time for some apple cider!

 Choppity, chop, chop, chop.

 Hi there, juicer!! How I love thee!!!

 When I started juicing, the kids were watching this and I could HEAR them thinking, "No WAY am I drinking that."

 It looked even worse in one of my gorgeous blue vintage Ball jars!

 

 In the ATLAS gallon jars, it was sooooo pretty! A hundred year old jar holding cold pressed cider just like they used to make in the olden days! (Fine, except for the fancy juicer...)

 My husband's parents and his brother have come to visit. There's been a lot of cactus around. (It's already been defanged here and is ready to grill.) They're used to cooking on an open flame so good thing it's summer. We just eat everything that way and everybody's happy.

                                                                 NOM NOM NOM

 My husband and his dad. Funny, I always think hubby is SO Mexican. And then his family comes to visit and I start thinking, "Dude, you are SO American." I mean, all you have to do is check out the hats. Point made.

 His younger brother, Rodrigo. Isn't he adorable? He was about 11 when we got married so when I look at him, I get a shock. In my head, he's just a little kid.

OK, so on to the recipe! I saw this on facebook. Have I mentioned how much I love facebook?? I just do. So many friends, so much FOOD.

 You'll need:
-two bell peppers
-two packs of cream cheese
-3 TBS green onions
-two cups shredded cheddar cheese
-2 TBS paprika
-1/4 tsp cumin
-1 cup crushed Dorito chips or some other unnaturally orange-colored chip

 Add green onions to the cream cheese.

 Kids love cooking. Kids love learning how to make something delicious. But mostly kids love cooking when there is crushing and mashing involved.

 Adding the shredded cheese. (I know, I probably don't need to show every step. But we all love pictures, right? Skip to the end if you're bored.)

 Add the seasoning. (*prods readers awake*) Don't skip this next step or you'll have an interesting mess on your hands. Chill the cheese blobs for about 20 minutes.

 Wake UP! It's the really exciting part! Sprinkling on the Dorito crumbs!!

 We pressed in the tops of the green bell pepper (use the rest for a salad or something) and then sprinkled on a bit more. Serve immediately. Oh, aren't they adorable??? Ready for a Fall party!

Have a wonderful Wednesday wherever you are!
And now...
Back to writing...
And eating...
And writing...