Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Today's recipe is a copycat version of our family's beloved Philadelphia's Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread. It is chock full of vegetables, and fresh herbs, is a fraction of the cost of the store-bought brand, and I have to say, this recipe is pretty darn close to the original.

Bagels and cream cheese are a staple breakfast or after-school snack in our home, especially bagels slathered with Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese, our family's favorite. Unfortunately, the small tubs found in grocery stores do not last long in a home with teenagers, teenager friends that stop by, and a young adult, all with voracious appetites. Anyone who has teenagers can attest to how quickly food disappears. Yeesh!

Re-creating recipes at home is my thing, so I took a stab at re-creating my family's beloved veggie cream cheese spread because I could make larger quantities and control the ingredients. It took a couple of tries experimenting with the ingredients (apparently, cucumber was a no-no), but according to our "Master Taster Tester," as my son calls himself, this recipe got a thumbs up! With just a few ingredients and a couple of minutes of chopping and mixing, the result was a creamy, dreamy, savory spread, the perfect addition to bagels, crackers, sandwiches, and more! This recipe is so tasty and economical that you may never use the store tubs again!

Comment below if you have made this sensational spread. Thanks for stopping by. Please come back again.

Ingredients

3 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 whole green pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 whole red pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 whole yellow pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
6 whole green onions, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 stalk of celery, coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 1/2 Tablespoon (Tbsp) coarsely chopped chives (more to taste)
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Lem'n Dill Seasoning (more to taste)
1 teaspoon (tsp) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (more to taste)

*Feel free to add or subtract any veggies or herbs to your liking.

Preparation
Coarsely chop the peppers, the onions, carrot, celery, and herbs. Add all the ingredients, except the cream cheese, to a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. My family prefers chunks of vegetables in their veggie cream cheese spread, but you are welcome to pulse until really fine. Scoop out the vegetable mixture from the food processor and place into a bowl. Set aside.

*Note: if you do not have a food processor, don't fret, this recipe can easily be made by finely chopping up all the ingredients and adding to the softened cream cheese.

Combine the cream cheese in the food processor until smooth. Remove the cream cheese from the food processor and add to the vegetables. Mix to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for at least a half hour to marry the flavors.