St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner. This Leprechaun cheese ball is sure to be a crowd-pleaser! It’s almost too fun to eat…almost.

Yield: 10-15 servings
Prep time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 brick of cream cheese, softened

• 1 small container of chive cream cheese, softened

• 2 cups shredded cheese (we used herb and garlic mozzarella cheese)

• 2-3 shallots, minced

• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 large carrot, peeled

• 2 olives

• 1 red pepper

• 1 green pepper

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together all ingredients thoroughly.

2. Form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until firm.

3. In the meantime, let’s make the features of the Leprechaun!

   a.     Hair and beard: Using a vegetable peeler, use a few large carrots to slice thin ribbons of “hair”.

   b.     Eyes: slice 2 black olives, or use pre-sliced olives.

   c.     Mouth: Slice a red pepper to use for a smiling mouth.

   d.     Nose: use a yellow pepper to create a triangle for a nose.

   e.     Hat: Slice the top off of a green pepper, about an inch wide – remove the stem and the seeds inside. Keep the bottom. Starting with the top, stack on the cheese ball “head” and then use a ring of sliced yellow pepper, ending with the green pepper bottom.

   4.     Serve the cheese ball with an assortment of whole grain crackers and veggie sticks.

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