Everything Cheeseball

Cassandra asked me the other day if I know how to make a cheeseball - I said yes, because of course I would have made a cheeseball before...but then it occurred to me that while I've made tons of dips and spreads I have not actually made a cheeseball. So of course I had to fix that - here's the one I picked for my first attempt, it's based on a Rachel Ray recipe I found here, and it is great. Loaded with flavor and texture - we seriously pigged out on this!

Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce brick cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons creamed horseradish
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/4 cup real bacon pieces
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 T. dried minced onion
• 2 T. dried minced garlic
• coarse sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, cheddar, and bacon.

Form the cheese mixture into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for at least one hour.

In a small bowl, mix together the onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic, salt and pepper.

Once cheeseball is set, put the seasoning mixture in a pie plate or on a big plate and roll the cheese ball in the mix until evenly coated. Serve with bagel chips, crackers, skinny breadsticks. 

PS: it's called "everything" based on the seasoning used on an everything bagel - I love those too...