Monkey Cheese Ball

Name: Monkey Cheese Ball
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 1 ball, 4-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon roasted garlic; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (hot); 2 teaspoons thyme, dried; 1 banana (chopped, about 1 cup); 1/2 cup green onion; 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated; 2 cups walnuts, chopped; thyme, fresh (optional)

Submitted by Iceland

"What a twist to an all time favorite! I make cheese balls all the time as you can make them before head when you are awaiting a crowd or have hungry guests dropping in without knowing beforehand. Sometimes neither me and nor DH feel for cooking, then we just sit down, i chop up some apples, carrots and find some crackers or nice bread and we enjoy some really fast dinner which still makes you feel good. The bananas give this cheeseball a slightly sweet taste which is though not over whelming as there are lots of spices too. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I can recommend to serve it with salted crackers or, if you like it to bee more filling, with dark, freshly baked rye bread. Note: Cooking time does not include chilling time."

Download

Ready In:: 40mins
Ingredients:: 10
Yields:: 1 ball
Serves:: 4-8

ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon roasted garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (hot)
2 teaspoons thyme, dried
1 banana (chopped, about 1 cup)
¹⁄₂ cup green onion
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups walnuts, chopped
thyme, fresh (optional)

directions

Soften the cream cheese in your mixer or food processor.
Add salt, roasted garlic and thyme and beat until well blended.
Stir inn the chopped up banana, green onion and cheddar cheese.
Blend in 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Shape into ball and roll in the remaining walnuts.
Decorate with fresh thyme leaves if you like.
Serve and enjoy.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!

Reviews

This was a fantastic cheese ball! I never had a banana mixed in with a cheese ball, but here it worked out wonderfully, and it blended in extremely well. I don't think i would change a thing, as none of the ingredients overpowered any of the others. And it was so pretty to see the colour of the thyme mix with the colour of the walnuts, too.

Studentchef

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Iceland

Originaly from Austria i moved to Iceland in 2002 after a life long longing for this country i felt at home at once and now it is the place where i belong. I am living with my wonderful husband in a nice, bright flat in the subburb of our capital, Reykjavik. I love to cook and eat healthy and i mainly use whole grain. I do not use any ready made mixes and i try to keep the food i cook close to the ingrediants i used. I am an elementary school teacher but i work in a kindergarden now and i actually prefer that field. Besides cooking and though especially baking, i like photography, knitting, swimming, long walks, all kind of sports, animals and nature among much more. <img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f249/Dreamgoddess555/Narrow1-1.jpg"> <img src="http://www.caymandesigns.com/foodothers/fallswap.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/lauralie41/cookbookswapspring08-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/RSC%20Banners/RSCParticipationBanner.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PACfall08partic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b158/bella_donata/My%20Art/Recipezaar/goldsparkle.png" border="0" alt="Made by Bella14ragazza"> <img src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/Permanent%20Collection/PACSpring09Iwasadopted.jpg"> This was at least as much fun as it was work: Thank you team! <img src="http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/79877/hkbanknives.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/sticker.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> My favorite game so far: <a href="http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/?action=view¤t=rrtplayersbanner09-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/rrtplayersbanner09-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/Animation6.gif">

View Full Profile