Birthday Surprise!

I never know what to expect when I go to my office and indeed something changes and/or surprises almost daily. Tuesday, much to my surprise and delight, my two department co-workers gave me an early birthday surprise, along with encouragement to "blog on!". They are both excellent cooks so I saw that as their faith that I too might make it some day.

Who doesn't love a cheese ball?  The blogger in me immediately started thinking about alternatives: what if I added smoked salmon and dill or chives or how would crushed pecans taste on the outside? This was so good (recipe below) and, as you can tell, didn't last long. Isn't it amazing how three people can eat so much in such a short period of time?!

Remember those brown sugar brownies I blogged about not long ago? Here is what they are 'suppose' to look like. Still warm out of the oven, they were gooey and delicious! I know because I ate two. These were made with dark brown sugar and not 1/2 bag, not 1 bag, but 1-1/2 bags of milk chocolate chips. I learned that the best technique was to remove the pan from the heat after the butter has melted so it can be cooling as the brown sugar is melting and the other ingredients are added so that the chocolate chips do not melt.

In my goodies bag was two books (see below). I can't wait to see what suggestions they have to improve my cooking and, thus, my blogging

Recipe: Cheese Ball

2 - 8 oz. packages of plain cream cheese

1 bunch scallions, minced

1 4-6 oz. ham, finely chopped

1 package Ranch Dressing Mix (may use 2 packages for a spicier flavor)

McCormick's Steak Seasoning or a black pepper seasoning

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients. Form into a ball or rectangle. Roll in the steak or black pepper seasoning.

Happy Birthday to me!