Shell's Cheese Ball

My friend Shell made this for me along time ago and it was delightful a must at any dinner party but to be honest I haven’t made it much mainly due to eating most of it myself and because the first time I tried I didn’t quite read the directions properly and overdosed on onion and capsicum, that being said it went straight in the bin after I realised what I had done and I was totally devastated at the time, but the seasons have passed and I can now make the famous Cheese ball with a happy smile and a knowing grin for taste buds of cheese lovers will unite again .

Now the first thing you must know about making this is allow plenty of time for the flavors to blend and the ball to set at least 3 hours in my opinion. 

  Ingredients

• 1 Packet Cream Cheese (Philadelphia )
• 1 packet Cottage cheese ( I prefer the onion and chives but plain is fine also)
• 1 Large cup grated cheese of your flavor (A sharp flavor works well)
• (optional another Good quality Cheese you like to add for flavor) 1 cup approx
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon chopped red capsicum
• 1 teaspoon chopped onion
• Paprika to roll the cheese ball in when set.

Directions

• leave all 3 types of cheese on the bench covered in a large mixing bowl for about half a hour to relax and be easier to blend, then add all ingredients together apart from Paprika and gently mix until everything is well blended and looking like a creamy colourful mixture ( it will be a bit gluggy)
• Cover mixing bowl and put in fridge for ¾ hour to set cheese firm again.
• On a large plate sprinkle a good measure of Paprika to roll the ball in.
• I personally prefer two smaller balls so I divide the mixture in two and roll in my hands to form nice rounded ball shapes.
• Here is where you can have some fun and get a little creative, How you shape your cheese ball is an individual thing as is how to decorate it,  I like to roll my balls then flatten bottom to give a stable bottom to sit . Also you can cut out shapes from baking paper and stick to the ball before rolling then take the shapes of after and it will be a decorated cheese ball like here. http://www.choosy-beggars.com/index.php/2009/01/02/the-classic-cheese-ball/