Two cheese Lemon Cheesecake

I had the ingredients.  All I needed was the desire to bake. It all came together and this beauty of a cheesecake was born.

Fresh lemon, vanilla wafer cookies, cream cheese, ricotta and sour cream. How can you miss with these wonderful ingredients with this recipe of mine?.

That's a sour cream coating on top. Yum

Combing two recipes is what this recipe is about.

Crust

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers( I used store generic brand)
4 T melted butter
1/4 cup sugar

Crush wafers in a food processor or you can place the cookies in a large seal-able bag and with a rolling pin press back and forth until fine.

In a medium size bowl add crushed wafers, butter and sugar. With a fork mix all. Press into a spring form pan. Refrigerate pan until you mix the below ingredients together.

Cheesecake ingredients

 6  large eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 stick softened butter
1 -15 oz. ricotta
1 cup light sour cream
2-8 oz. packages softened cream cheese
3 T cornstarch
3 T flour
1 whole large lemon squeezed (2 small to medium)
Rind of one lemon

Sour Cream topping:

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. sugar

Beat softened cream cheese with sugar and butter.  Add eggs one at a time until blended. Beat well...at least a few minutes.   Add ricotta, cornstarch and flour. Add lemon juice, sour cream and rind of lemon. Beat until all is blended. Pour gently over crushed cookie mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees about 90 + minutes or until top is just about set in center. Remove from oven and carefully spread sour cream mixture over cheesecake. Place back in oven and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Gently go around edges with a sharp knife around cheesecake to loosen. Do not remove sides until completely cooled.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  **Cool at least 4 hours before slicing.

It's creamy and delicious.  I like the sour cream topping and using the crushed cookies on the bottom instead of the usual graham cracker crust was a plus. We had a slice tonight and it was very light and not as rich as others I have made.  Less sugar and still a great taste. Yummy!!!

We'll see how it is tomorrow after it has totally set. 

So far so good!

P.S. I'm serving mine with crushed pineapple but any fruit topping would work. Of course just as it is was perfect tonight.

Please note**** I placed my springform pan on aluminum foil before I filled it. Sometimes I have had the pan leak onto my oven floor and boy does it create a mess. Smoke and having to clean up a dirty oven.

A final note.  I decided to try this recipe in a 11 x 14”

Pan.  Beautiful cheesecake squares.  Easy to serve! Convenient too!

Ps:  I didn’t top this cheesecake with sour cream but easily could have. Enjoy!

From my happy kitchen to yours,

Add this salad to your meal: Green Bean/ Orzo Salad

Yes I like to add orzo pasta to a lot of salads..It changes things a little and compliments instead of overpowers, as some pastas do in a salad..Here is a recipe I found to be really tasty and I'm making it with some kebabs for dinner.  .You'll find some days I tweak recipes to spice them up.  Hope to tantalize your taste buds!    

8 oz. orzo, cooked rinsed and drained
2 roasted red peppers (I took the easy way out today and used jarred roasted peppers)
1 tablespoon capers
1 large shallot (I used green onion) I forgot to buy shallots
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned and broken in half.  Cook with some salt until tender and set aside
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard( I used Honey Dijon) (See what I mean!!!!!!!!!)

Whisk together vinegar, oil and mustard..Stir in shallot(green onion), capers, bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste.  Add orzo and beans to vinaigrette..Garnish with chopped basil if desired! Toss and serve.

Pretty to look at delicious to eat!

Chicken,mushroom, sweet onion,red, green and yellow peppers..Just season with salt and pepper and grill about 20 minutes!  Enjoy!  Note: soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes.

Happy Easy Meals.

From my kitchen to yours,

Italian Pesto Salad

Easy Salads for a healthier lifestyle.  

To keep us healthy and give us energy including lots of good protein is a good idea.  I have found that including some protein in every meal (yes 3 times a day) helps to keep the body going and keep your metabolism running properly. 

Whether you use this recipe the way I have written it or adding some healthy olive oil to it I am sure you'll find it enjoyable. 

Italian Pesto Salad

8 oz elbow macaroni( I used tri color for some color)

1 -7 oz. Jar basil pesto sauce( I used fresh basil pesto)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ tsp. Kosher salt

2- 15 oz. cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained

(3 cups baby arugula)

2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shaved

¼ cup pine nuts

Cook macaroni according to directions. Drain and rinse well under cold water. Set aside.

In a large bowl stir together pesto, vinegar and salt.

Add beans, cooked macaroni, arugula, half the cheese and half the pine nuts

Toss well. Serve at once or cover and chill up to 6 hours. Top with remaining cheese and nuts.

Note: I am adding the Bibb lettuce just before serving.

8/29/14

2/15/16

3/22/17

Mango Peach Salsa Pork

Salsa isn't just for dipping chips in.  It's adds a great flavor to chicken or pork and adding it to your crockpot with your favorite meat seals the deal.

I am by no means an expert in cooking or baking but I have no problem experimenting with foods.  If it sounds like a good combination I'll play with it in a recipe.  This one was a no brainier

I had plans to go out for the day and I also had pork chops I had bought and not froze as well as a bottle of salsa.  Mango Peach no less.  Love both.  So I quickly seared my pork chops in a bit of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and into my crockpot with the salsa on low.  I was gone for 5 hours and yes it was ready when I returned.

My pork chops were on the thinner side but I'm sure it will work even better with thick style pork chops and if you are working and will be gone all day, setting your crockpot to low it will assure a great meal when you get home.

I made a potato in the microwave and cut it in cubes and put the cooked pork and salsa over it.

It was so yummy..  Enjoy and sure try it with chicken if you don't care for pork.

Ingredients:

1 cup salsa or more
1/4 cup water(optional)

4 to 6 boneless pork chops or 2 lb. pork loin roast
pinch salt and pepper

5 to 8 hours on low depending on thickness of pork chops or roast.

Why not try some shredded over mashed potatoes or like I did for lunch loaded mashed potatoes. My hubby's choice. He loved it!

This was Made in the crockpot using pork chops but I also have used a boneless lean pork tenderloin or loin roast.   So you have many choices, meal, lunch or a yummy sandwich. 

Happy Crockpot Cooking from my kitchen to yours,

Author Unknown

I thought these were so beautiful I had to share on this lovely Saturday.  They made me feel optimistic and grateful.

These twelve short stories are all very good stories and make us think twice about the daily happenings in our lives as we deal with others!!

1. Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I'm   working on for my Psychology class.  When I asked her to define success in  her own words, she said;

"Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile."

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2.  Today, I asked my mentor - a very successful business man in his 70s-  what his top 3 tips are for success.  He smiled and said;
"Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do  something no one else is doing."

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3.   Today, after my 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me  at the grocery store and gave me a hug.  When I tensed up, she realized I   didn't recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most  sincere smile and said;

"On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center."

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4.  Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side   of the road holding him and crying.  And just before he died;
he licked the tears off my face.

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5.  Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so   I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat   tire.  When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too.

A man in   a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job.

I start tomorrow.

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6.  Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my   mother's hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. 
She simply said, "I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often."

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7. Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small   hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he Passed,

I realized it was the first  time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

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8.  Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start   recycling. I chuckled and asked, "Why?" She replied, "So you can help me   save the planet." I chuckled again and asked, "And why do you want to save   the planet?"

Because that's where I keep all my stuff," she said.

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9. Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing   hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter's antics, I suddenly realized that, 

I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

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10.  Today, a boy in a wheelchair  saw me desperately struggling on crutches  with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me.   He   helped me all the  way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said,

"I hope you feel better soon."

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11.   Today, I was feeling down because the results of a biopsy came back  malignant. When I got home, I opened an e-mail that said, "Thinking of you today. If you need me, I'm a phone call away."

It was from a high school   friend I hadn't seen in 10 years.

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12.   Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He  said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and  unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was  Eating.

The first thing the man said was, "We can share it.

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The best sermons are lived, not preached.

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I am glad I have 'you' to send these to.

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These are worth passing on...hope you enjoy them as much as I did !

Much love,