Say Cheese :D -- cheesecake that is.

When life gives you lemons, you make ... cheesecake?? Well, at least that's what I decided to do. It was about 8:30 pm on a Wednesday night, and I was sitting on my couch watching the Food Network (big surprise huh??) and got up during a commercial to pour myself a refreshment. As I was walking over to the fridge, I noticed that the last lemon that I had was getting ready to go bad, so I knew that I needed to find something to do with it sooner rather than later.

I turned to my online resources and started looking up different things I could do with a single lemon. After some searching, I came across a recipe that caught my eye -- lemon and goat cheese cheesecake. I've never made cheesecake before, but what better reason to try it out now right?

It was a very simple recipe using basic ingredients found among most households. There was a bit of a problem though ... the crust. A typical cheesecake crust consists of a nice crispy layer of graham crackers, smashed and mixed together with a little bit of sugar and melted butter. Unfortunately, graham crackers are not something that I regularly carry in my pantry. So it was time for plan B ... whatever that may be. I opened up my pantry and scanned top to bottom and left to right to try and find something that could substitute for a cheesecake crust. And then it hit me -- why not an oatmeal crumble crust? It sure sounded good, and I figured I could do it up to make it taste just as delicious as it sounded. 

I looked at the ingredients for the filling, and so far so good.

• goat cheese ---> Check
• lemon ---> Check
• eggs ---> Check
• sugar ---> Check
• cream cheese ---> Uhhhhhh

Okay so apparently there was another problem. I don't necessarily care for cream cheese, and rarely eat bagels, so I knew for a fact that I didn't have that anywhere around here. But I do always have greek yogurt. I know that people regularly substitute greek yogurt for sour cream or plain yogurt, but I wondered if it would be safe to substitute it for cream cheese (the main ingredient in most cheesecakes). Well, it was worth a try right??

I have to say, it was sooo worth it! The cheesecake was just as creamy, decadent, and flavorful as a regular cheesecake. I honestly would not be able to tell that this doesn't have any cream cheese in it.

Finally, a cheesecake that tastes great and is full of flavor, but that isn't a pie pan full of fat and empty calories -- and actually has multiple health benefits. Yes you need to be careful how much you eat of it, but is a dessert you don have to feel guilty about indulging in.

So for those of you interested in trying to do this yourself here is a rough recipe that you can try out if you are feeling adventurous.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter (melted)
• 1 cup soft goat cheese
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice and zest of 1 lemon (half that if you don't want as lemony of a flavor)

DIRECTIONS:

>> Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the oats, brown sugar, and melted butter until completely combined. Place this mixture into a food processor if you want a rough chop on the oats so they aren't as big. Take this and pour in to a small baking dish or pie pan and spread it out evenly among the baking dish. Put it in the oven for roughly 10 minutes, or until the oats brown and are set. Take the crust out and allow to cool a bit before pouring the filling in.

>> As your crust is cooling, turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Next put the goat cheese, greek yogurt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix together the ingredients. While mixing these together, slowly add in one egg at a time, allowing each egg to fully mix in before adding the next. Lastly, add in the lemon juice and zest and mix it all together. Once everything is completely combined, take the filling mixture and pour it over the cooled oatmeal crust. Place the baking dish back into the oven and bake for roughly 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it though, because each oven is a little different and depending on the size and shape of baking dish you use, the cheesecake will bake at a different rate. What you are looking for is the outside to be pretty set, but the center of the cheesecake to slightly jiggle/wiggle when you move the baking dish without being liquidy. After it is done baking, take out of the oven and allow to fully cool before either serving or placing into the fridge to cool to a chilled temperature. Then, ENJOY! :)

I really hope that you all try this recipe out! I loved it and I know that all of you will as well. I openly welcome any comments, criticism, and questions, so do not hesitate! Just remember, the answer to any dilemma is say CHEESE :D