Turkey Cheese Ball

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

While the real bird is roasting, how about presenting your guests with this creative little turkey??? It was so cute, and sooo very easy to make. I must admit, I cheated and purchased Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cracker Spreads (I got the one with roasted red peppers in it, and I purchased 2 packages), formed it into a ball and chilled it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. But it definitely had the same effect, and tasted delicious, too.

2 packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese
6 ounces deli smoked turkey, finely chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Decorations:
3 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons milk
Brown, orange and yellow paste food coloring (I couldn't find this, so I used regular food coloring and made my own brown color by mixing red, yellow and blue. Be careful - blue goes a long way. If it is too grey or black, add more red or yellow).
6 large oval crackers
1 large sweet red pepper
1 small yellow summer squash
1 cup pecan halves
Assorted Crackers

In a small mixing bowl, beat the first six ingredients until combined. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Divide among four small bowls. With food coloring, tint one brown, one dark orange and one yellow. Leave one bowl plain. Transfer each mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. For Turkey tail feathers, decorate the top halves of the large oval crackers with the tinted cream cheese.

Using the red pepper, form the turkey head, neck and snood. For the beak, cut a small triangle from summer squash; attach with cream cheese (I had to use a toothpick). Insert the pecan halves and decorated crackers into the cheese ball. Serve with assorted crackers

This was absolutely delightful! It was so much fun to make, all the guests ooohed and ahhhed over it, and it was quite simple (especially since I used a pre-made cheese spread!). I will give a word of warning - do not put the tail feathers in until just before serving as they do get soggy and will break off.