Caramel Banana Cheesecake

Let me begin by saying that this recipe is not low fat or low sodium by any stretch of the imagination.  Every once in awhile, I will indulge in something that is too delicious to pass up.  Cheesecake is one of those foods.

Years ago, I was travelling in Great Britain with a tour group.  One evening, we stopped at a local restaurant for dinner.  I don't remember the name of the place, but I most definitely remember the dessert: Banoffee Pie.  I asked the server what it was, and she explained that it was a banana toffee pie served with whipped cream. SOLD!  I absolutely fell in love with Banoffee Pie.

Once at home, I searched the Internet to find a recipe for Banoffee Pie.  I found several and tried a few that were easiest to make.  Unfortunately, they didn't turn out well.  They were either too runny or too thick to slice.  I was too afraid to try making Banoffee Pie the correct way because it involves boiling unopened cans of sweetened condensed milk for approximately five hours.

So instead of making pie, I decided to combine my love of Banoffee Pie and cheesecake, and this recipe is the result.  I took a basic cheesecake recipe and altered it to give it the essence of Banoffee Pie.  I think it was a success because I received rave reviews from my coworkers.

CARAMEL BANANA CHEESECAKE
Ingredients:
Crust-
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
Filling-
3 packages (8oz) cream cheese, softened.  (I used 2 packages of Neufchatel and 1 package of fat free cream cheese.)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Sweet Blend* (You may also use cinnamon)
3 eggs
8 ounces sour cream (I used low fat sour cream)
3 ripe bananas, sliced
Whipped Cream and extra caramel sauce for topping

Preparation:
Prepare the crust first.  In a small bowl, combine butter, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. 

Press into bottom of 9-inch or 10-inch spring form pan.  Place in freezer. 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In large bowl, cream softened cheese until smooth. 

Add banana extract, sugar, caramel, and Sweet Spice.  Add eggs one at a time.  Fold in sour cream.  Layer 2 sliced bananas over graham cracker crust. 

Pour filling into crust and bake for one hour.  Let sit in warm oven for another hour. 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.  Cake will have a very creamy consistency.  Top cake with 1 sliced banana, whipped cream, and caramel.

*Please email me at: auntiejeans@yahoo.com if you would like to order a bottle of Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Sweet Spice for $5 per bottle.

Party Taco Dip

Deciding what food to bring to a party is always a difficult choice for me.  I like to plan well in advance so I have time to shop and prepare the food as early as possible.  Sometimes I am forced (either through my lack of planning or just plain laziness) to prepare something at the last minute.

For the New Year's Eve party that I'm attending this year, I had decided to bring taco dip and tortilla chips.  Most of the ingredients, I normally have on hand, but I needed to pick up a couple things.  So I foolishly ran to the supermarket this afternoon (New Year's Eve).  As I approached the parking lot, I said, "NO!"  That was because I couldn't even turn into the parking lot with the amount of traffic waiting to enter.  There wasn't an empty parking space to be had, so I waited as patiently as I could and drove in and out of the parking lot to promptly return home.  Some cream cheese and tortilla chips were simply not worth the hassle.

Onto plan B...  I would bake my own tortilla chips using the tortilla shells at home and I would substitute sour cream for cream cheese.  I probably should have done that in the first place; lesson learned.

I returned home and starting baking tortilla chips while I prepared the taco dip to accompany them.  Crisis averted :-)  Here is the Taco Dip recipe you can whip up in a snap.  The home made tortilla chips recipe is found in an earlier post under "Homemade Chips and Salsa"

Have a happy and healthy new year!

PARTY TACO DIP

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
8 ounces low fat cream cheese / neufchatel, softened
1/4 cup low fat sour cream / yogurt
1 bag lettuce
2 diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sliced black olives (optional)

Preparation:
In small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning. 

Spread onto bottom of shallow dish.

 Layer lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and green onion. 

Top with shredded cheese. 

Refrigerate at least one hour.  Serve with tortilla chips.

*To purchase Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend, email me at:  auntiejeans@yahoo.com