Olive Penguins

(credit)

These cute black olive penguins came from my Tastefully Simple Recipe Blog. I check back weekly for great ideas on how to use our products. Plus I go to www.tastefullysimple.com/web/hgunn for over 5,000 recipes as well. What a great resource it has been for my kitchen and clients!

Olive Penguins

Ingredients:

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 packet Olive & Herb Cheese Ball Mix

6 oz. can jumbo black olives, pitted

6 oz. can small black olives, pitted

1 carrot, washed and peeled

1 roasted red pepper (from a jar)

1 quart-sized, re-sealable freezer bag

Frilly toothpicks

Directions:

* Blend the cream cheese with the Olive & Herb Cheese Ball Mix^™; place in a re-sealable freezer bag and chill for 1 hour or more to blend flavors. Bring to room temperature to fill the olives.

* Drain the olives (keep the two sizes separate) and pat them dry with paper towels.

* Cut a small piece lengthwise out of each jumbo olive.

* Cut a V-shaped groove out of the carrot, lengthwise, then slice the carrot into coins. Not too thin – you’ll need to be able to get a toothpick securely into the “feet.”

* Cut the skinny carrot piece that you removed for the feet into short pieces for the beaks

* Insert carrot “beaks” into the small olives.

* Open up a roasted red pepper and gently pat it dry with a paper towel. Slice very thin strips about 3-4” long for scarves.

* Snip a tiny corner off your freezer bag and pipe the cream cheese mixture into the V in the jumbo olive, full enough that the white cream cheese mixture is visible through the cut in the front. Place the filled olive upright onto a carrot coin; top the jumbo olive with a small olive “head” and keep the whole thing together by running the toothpick through the whole works, top to bottom. Wrap a roasted red pepper “scarf” around the neck. Ta da!