Easy Veggie Spread

I feel as though I would be remiss in my duties as a blogger if I didn’t share this recipe with you.  Is there some kind of foodie law enforcement that makes sure bloggers share the good stuff instead of keeping it to themselves?  Just to be safe, I will disclose all here.  I have been living off of it for several weeks now and I still can’t get enough. *phew*  Glad I got that off my chest.  I figured I could’t hoard the recipe forever… So simple.  And sometimes the best things are the simple things, right?

I always see veggie spreads in the store and just kind of skip over them.  I guess I like stuff either sweet, or at least dip-able.  I like to dunk and scoop my crackers and veggies.  But I have been on this kind of color kick with my cooking lately and I decided to experiment and come up with a pretty, veggie flecked spread that I loved equally on a cracker or a bagel.  A recipe that I could just throw together when I had company coming and not even give it a second thought.  A reliable, go-to version with minimal ingredients.  Min-i-mal.  This was actually a tall order and a bit of a challenge for myself as generally I like things like jam, honey, jelly, sweet butter, flavored cream cheese, or cinnamon-sugar on my bagels.  You may notice the sweet trend there.  What can I say?  I’m a ‘sweet’ kind of gal.  Heh heh.

But seriously.  Friends.  I haven’t even touched the sugary crap since I started making this.  Who knew so few ingredients could taste so glorious?  Love love love it.  And here it is, just in time for you to put out on New Years Eve.  A great snack to munch on while playing Scattergories, working on a puzzle, watching movies, or whatever it is that you do when you party down.  Just be sure to make another batch for latter, too.  Because who knows what the new year may bring!  Veggie spread instead of jam on my bagel is a good start.
Easy Veggie Spread
The good things you can do with this stuff is endless.  It is down right awesome on a whole grain cracker, pretzels, or bagel.  But it is great spread on toast, layered thin on a tortilla with fresh cucumbers then rolled up, dolloped on top of an omelette just before serving, spread on a roast beef sandwich, filled into celery sticks, and OH so much more!  Be sure to share in the comments below how YOU are enjoying this recipe!  As for the hot sauce, my test subjects were split 50/50 on wether or not to leave it in.  Everyone love the tiny bit of kick though, so you be the judge.

1 (8 oz) block  softened cream cheese (I use Neufchatel)
4 T (1/2 stick) room temperature butter
1 T freshly snipped chives
1 medium carrot, scrapped and grated
1 heaping T freshly chopped parsley
big pinch of salt and lots of black pepper, or to taste
1 tsp hot sauce, optional

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, adding hot sauce if desired and tasting for seasoning.  Let the flavors sit together to meld for an hour or so if possible.  Taste again and add more salt, pepper, or hot sauce if needed.