Fran's Holiday Cheese Ball

We've purchased or made from scratch and tried many different types of cheese balls.  A cheese ball is nothing more than a mixture of cheeses, maybe with chopped veggies and a few spices rolled into a ball and served as a dip with crackers.

It's an appetizer that's been in and out of popularity many times but still seems to hang in there.  

Even though a cheese ball may be considered sort of retro by some, it's one appetizer you can be sure of.  And there's an entire book devoted to it.  The book, Great Balls of Cheese by Michelle Buffardi has more than 50 savory and sweet cheese ball recipes!

Olive Cheesy Bread

Some people are olive lovers and some are not. 

When my daughter Alexis was about 5 or 6, she had an obsession with black olives.  She liked to put one black olive on each finger and then eat them.  

Concerned about the ingredients, contacted the Heinz Company who replied back with a letter with the ingredients list and a coupon for a free jar of olives. 

I recently re-looked up the nutritional value of olives and it turns out olives are pretty healthy!