Food- Gluten Free Cheese Cake

I'm all aboard the Gluten Free train. It was a rough ride at first and I was in some real denial about just how hard it was going to be and how dedicated I was going to have to be after I got diagnosed with Celiacs Disease.

Over the last year I've learned a lot about eating gluten free. Where to buy the yummiest products for the best price, how to adapt, experiment and try new flavors and how to budget when I want to spurge on those delicious but pricey treats.

There are several great grocery stores in my area that carry a decent selection of GF products. Publix, Walmart, Earth Fare and my favorite, Kroger. Kroger and Earth Fare carry the biggest selection but Kroger's prices can't be beat. Not only can you find a large selection of GF products in their organic section but I have noticed more and more GF products filling in the regular isles. One day, as I was walking down the baking isle I noticed Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix. I was skeptical of how good it would taste but I was and continue to be willing to try any new GF product I come across. I went home and made cup cakes and they were wonderful. The texture was different than regular cupcakes but it was still a pleasant texture. The taste was great too. The only note I made was to add an extra egg to make the cake fluffier or to fill the batter to the top of the cup, since GF batter tends to settle heavier than regular batter.

Since then Ive purchased several of Betty Crocker's GF products. I especially love their brownie and sugar cookie mix.

The other day I had a craving for cheese cake and I had everything I needed for it except for the ingredients to make a crust. I did, however, have a box of Betty Crocker's GF sugar cookie mix and thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. So I made the cookie dough following the box directions and then pressed half of it into a pie pan. I quickly mixed up my go-to cheese cake recipe and poured it in, baked it and 45 minutes later out popped the most delicious cheese cake! I topped it with fresh strawberries and it tasted like perfection!

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 325-350 degrees.

Crust: 1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix. Make the dough as direct on the box and then press half of the dough into a pie pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake-

1 1/2 8oz packages of cream cheese softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Tbls lemon juice

1/4 Teasp vanilla

2 eggs

In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Next add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.

Poor Filling into the the pie pan.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Time will vary based on how thick you pressed the "pie crust" into the pan. Check the center with a tooth pick to determine if it needs more time.

*Optional Topping

Mix together:

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbls sugar

1/4 teasp vanilla

Take the cake out 10 minutes before it's finished cooking, spread the sour cream mix on top as well as any fruit or other toppings you prefer and then place back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes.

That's it for today. Next week I'll talk about one of my favorite GF products that I eat daily.