You can find the best ideas when thumbing through magazines while waiting at the dentist or doctor’s office. (And who cares if they’re not current issues, by the way.)

Here’s one I just have to share. In an older edition of SOUTHERN LIVING, I saw the article “The Embarrassingly Easy 4-Ingredient Appetizer I Must Bring to Every Party,” by Jill Schildhouse. She said, “Nearly two decades ago, as I was frantically trying to come up with a quick dish to bring to a last-minute party, I discovered a four-ingredient appetizer recipe that just so happened to parallel the same few ingredients I had on hand.”

Don’t you love it when that happens? Well, turns out, everyone in her world loved it too, and as she said, this was over twenty years ago and her friends and family have insisted she bring this dish to every gathering, ever since!

Here’s what she says to do to make this rave-review appetizer: You simply take 2 softened blocks of cream cheese and mix in a packet of ranch seasoning and a drained can of chicken. Once everything is thoroughly combined, form the mixture into a ball. From there you roll it in some chopped pecans or walnuts until it’s well-covered. That’s it.

Jill says this chicken cheese ball is creamy, perfectly seasoned, has a nice pop of protein, and the nuts add a little texture. She also says that besides going really well with all sorts of hearty crackers, it also pairs nicely with celery and carrot sticks and halved sweet mini peppers for a lighter dish.

Her last suggestion is in regards to including it in your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hannukah spreads. She highly recommends adding some dried cranberries alongside the pecans (or fold them in) for a pop of color and a sweet twist to help balance out the saltiness from the ranch seasoning.

While Jill’s instructions are clear and simple, and you probably don’t need a formal recipe per se, here it is in that format anyway, so you can get this winner into your Cook’n collection. I’m excited to try this ULTIMATE appetizer!




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    Alice Osborne
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com