What Has Been Up?

 Gosh, I feel as if I have not had a chance to blog in just about forever. Well world, I sadly had to resign from my position of assisting a master cheese maker. You see, I have a degree, I went to school for just about ever and I had an opportunity come up where I could use that degree working in an Elementary school. Getting back into the swing of working all day has been quite the challenge. I am lucky, truly lucky, to have been able to stay at home with my children while they were little. I now get to work while they are in school and am home in time for the youngest to get out of school. I do not have to miss out on any of the sporting practices or games. I get to be home for dinner and homework. It is an ideal situation for me, but it has been hard finding a routine. I have been so used to grocery shopping, preparing food, cleaning, laundry all that fun stuff while I was home all day and the kids were in school. Now, I am learning to multi-task on a whole other level. Instead of spending hours washing, drying and folding clothes, I am now throwing in a load and heading out to football practice. I can dry it when I get back. lol All these old tricks are coming back to me slowly but surely.

Cross section of a Ball

In my new found position as a working mom, I am trying to still keep up on all the things that I used to do for my boys, Husband included. Sunday Football gives me that opportunity. We like to watch football all day at my house. Grazing on snacks and appetizers that I set out gets us by in place of a large dinner. One recipe I love to make is a cheese ball. I started out buying them from our local market but then I thought...Shoot I can do that. So I set about trying to perfect my recipe.

You will need:
1 package of softened Cream Cheese
A bunch of green onions
Some Ham diced up, about 1/2 a cup
2 cups of extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.... 1 cup is for rolling the ball in after the mix is made
1/2 teaspoon of cummin
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Black pepper to taste
*I do not salt this, the ham adds enough salt for my family's taste but feel free to add if you want.*

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for 1 cup of shredded cheese. Mix well. Once combined, I then roll the mixture into a softball shape. Once that has happened, roll the ball around in the reserved extra sharp cheddar until the outside of the ball is covered. Refrigerate for at least an hour to harden and let the flavors come together. I serve this with a variety of crackers. It is a big hit at my house and there never seems to be any left over for Monday Night Football.

On another side note, I recently went to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, in Holly, Michigan. What is there not to love about a Renaissance Fair? I was super excited to find a vendor that was hand making brooms. Is there anything cooler than that?! Probably but not at that moment. I had to have one. I hung it on my wall next to my whiskey barrel table. I love the combination, enough country flare for my taste and not too much for the Husband's. lol Compromise ; )

My Broom and Barrel

Enjoy : )