Cream Cheese Vegetable Spread

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup plus 1 TBSP finely chopped broccoli florets
¼ cup chopped carrots
3 TBSP minced green or red bell peppers
1/8 cup finely minced sweet onions
Salt
Pepper

Allow cream cheese to soften at room temperature, then mix in chopped vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for several hours before serving.


*****
This is my favorite spread for a bagel. I love having the carrots a little chunky but the broccoli, peppers and onions chopped very fine. The flavors mellow perfectly after being chilled for a few hours. Celery and radishes would also blend well with this vegetable mix.

Homemade cream cheese or store bought work with this recipe. If I don’t have any homemade cream cheese on hand, I prefer the generic store brands of cream cheese (most name brand cream cheeses have whey protein concentrate added).