Recipe #4 - Pimento Cheese Spread

Pimento Cheese Spread - A Thing of Beauty

I've just about gone broke buying Whole Foods pimento cheese spread.  It's so good!  Hence the necessity to make it myself.  Enter Paula Deen's recipe, which I tweaked to replicate that WF flavor.  I enjoy it piled half an inch thick on a slice of Wasa Crisp'n Light 7 Grain Crackerbread (3.7 net carbs per cracker).  It sort of scratches that Cheetos itch...sort of.  J   Why do I have a Cheetos itch if I'm eating low carb, do you ask?  My husband says that I cheat too much because cravings go away after 'induction'.  I say it's a woman thing - don't go there!  Purists could easily enjoy it on celery or slices of cucumber.

Ingredients

• 1 - 3 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar
• 1 ½  cups grated Monterrey Jack or other white cheese (white cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack, etc)
• ¼  cup mayonnaise
• sour cream to taste/ desired smoothness
• ½  teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 2/3 – 4 oz jar of diced pimentos including juice
• ¼ - ½  finely minced white or red onion
• Black pepper to taste

Directions

Combine cream cheese, ¼ cup mayo, onions, pimentos, & spices in a large bowl until smooth.   Add grated cheeses plus sour cream to your taste or until you get your desired smoothness for the spread.  I end up using about ¼ cup sour cream total.  Chill at least one hour to allow the flavors to marry, if you can wait that long! 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/bobbys-pimento-cheese-recipe/index.html