Tastefully Simple Lime Cheesecake... With a Ruthy Twist!

Talk about painless and delicious!

I bought a package of Key Lime Dip mix at that lovely Tastefully Simple party I went to in the fall....

I love lime. Just love it. But I don't like most Key Lime things because the ratio of graham cracker and lime is wrong.  Mind you, I know that's a personal thing, because clearly the rest of the world thinks it's RIGHT....

Umm...

Not me.

I like light lime and pastry, so here's what I did on Sunday because I needed something baked and had no time:

I patted sugar cookie dough into the bottom of a 10" souffle pan.... Or you can use a glass pie dish, or Corning Ware... glass works better because you don't end up with any metallic aftertaste.

Mmm... lime and aluminum....Not so much.

:)

When I make cookie dough I usually make a double batch (or more) and freeze some. So I pulled out a package of dough, patted it into the pan and baked it at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. You can use the Pillsbury refrigerated dough at the grocery store. Or you can crush cookies to make a traditional crushed cookie crust (like a graham cracker crust only with shortbread cookies instead of crackers.)

That's it. That's your ingredient list right there in that pic! A tub of Cool Whip, an 8 oz. package of cream cheese and a box of the Key Lime mix....  (the recipe on the back calls for a graham cracker crust, but I've already revealed my inborn prejudice about lime X graham... so the cookie crust was a great alternative!

Mix the softened cream cheese and the lime mix together. Fold in Cool Whip.

Pile into cooled pie shell/cookie crust, etc.

It's missing a garnish. I was working on revisions and a new proposal though, so I didn't wait to garnish it. I'm not even sure what you should garnish it with... Lime slices to throw away? That seems wasteful. I like garnishes that get eaten... Share ideas if you have any because it really needs something not to look so plain....

BECAUSE IT WAS MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH wonderfully good to eat.

The only thing I'd do different is make the cookie crust a little thinner... and then watch to make sure it doesn't get over-cooked. I had about 3/8" to 1/2" of dough in the pan. When it rose, it became like a 3/4" crust... A little thick, right?  But it was tender and had that great Mary's Sugar Cookie taste, just marvelous.

Simply Saturday Cranberry Orange Bread Using Tastefully Simple Wheat Bread Mix

Ruthy here.... and yes, you must gaze upon the cover of my Christmas book that's in stores and on Amazon right now, because I just love, love, love this book...

The hero.... (yes, this is commercialism to the max, right????)  Troubled. Tortured. But so good, so kind, such a wonderful man!!!

And a heroine, going the distance, longing for love that's eluded her for nearly three decades...

(FYI: Walmart has all of the December Love Inspireds on sale at 3/$9.99  AND THEY ORDERED A BUNCH EXTRA FOR THE SALE!!!! How stinkin' fun is that?????)

Oh, and today is our 39th anniversary...  I was a ten-year-old December bride... Shame on you, Dave!!!  Oh, wait... that would make him ten years old, too!!!  :)  Anyway, our treat for this anniversary is to go watch one of our young charges from Ruthy's Place perform in "Sister's Christmas Catechism" at Geva Theater's "Next Stage" this Wednesday... I love seeing my little guys and gals spread their wings... Cole and the rest of the kids who make up the children's "choir" are working with Broadway actress Colleen Moore....

What a nice thing to put on a nine-year-old's resume!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program!!!  :)

First, this bread is amazing.

Second, it's ridiculously easy.

Third, that fact just makes me smile!!!!

Here's what you need:

One box Tastefully Simple Wheat Beer Bread Mix

1 12 oz. can cranberry soda (I used cranberry ginger ale, just delicious!)

1/2 cup cranberry orange relish.

Mix by hand.

Spoon into greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40-50 minutes until golden and sides just come away from sides of pan. Okay, I ask you, can you get any easier than that????  I submit that you cannot!

Okay, how pretty is this loaf???? Bits of red, peeking through???? But will it taste good?

Here's Beth slicing the bread... She's cute, right?

Did you notice in Missy's pictures yesterday, her kitchen table in the background is like sparkling clean????

Oy.

Note the difference here.

Sigh.... ;)

DELICIOUS! Yes, party-worthy. But also, just plain worthy. The bits of wheat give crunch... the cranberry orange gives taste and texture (two huge things with me for bread...) and the flavor of the cranberry soda background is just enough to lightly sweeten the wheat bread. Truly a perfect balance and it took all of like THREE MINUTES.

Now that's a Simple Saturday, LOL!