"Guilt Free" Sweet Potato Cheesecake

I want to share this great recipe with you for your Thanksgiving dinner. If you are like me you plan on over eating and look for things to eat that may not be as full of calories but are just as satisfying. Some of you may have seen this recipe in the Clarksville Family Magazine.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Lowcountry Produce Sweet Potato Butter
2 pounds of low fat cream cheese (completely softened and at room temperature)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 teaspoons of ground ginger
1-1/2 cups of Splenda
4 extra large eggs
3/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons of butter

To make crust:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Grease an 8" x 3" springform pan.
Combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, and 1 teaspoon of ginger into a microwaveable container.
Heat for 45 seconds.
Press mixture uniformly into the bottom of your springform pan.
Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool.

To make cheesecake mixture:

Put your softened cream cheese into your mixer and "cream".
Add Splenda very slowly while you are smoothing your cream cheese.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of ginger, vanilla, Sweet Potato Butter, and four eggs (add eggs one at a time).
As soon as the last egg is blended into the mixture, turn off the mixer.
Using a spatula, pour the mixture into the pan. Add water to a larger pan to create a water bath.
Bake for 2 hours, or until it is evenly a golden brown with small cracks forming.

Tip: Best made a day in advance to chill properly.

Variation: For just a little guilt...add 7 oz. of goat cheese and 2 tablespoons of bourbon to the cheesecake mixture.

Sweet Potato Butter is available at "Ingredients".

Enjoy!!

Email is down

I am so frustrated trying to send the below email to my group but it won't go through. I have a call into the "help" line but have had no results since 10 this morning. I am not sure how many readers my blog has; but I thought this would be another way to get my information out today and hopefully tomorrow my email will be up and running.

Good Monday. I am going to try very hard to send an email each Monday to remind you of some the happenings downtown and inform you of new events.

This will be the last week of "Spelling Bee" at the Roxy. The performances will be October 7, 8, 9 & 10 with curtain times 7pm Wed. and Thurs. and 8pm Fri. and Sat. This is a very entertaining musical you will enjoy very much. The Roxy Regional Theatre is Clarksville's oldest professional theatre and continues to be one of Tennessee's top tourist destination by presenting a wide and eclectic choice of entertainment. If you can't make to this presentation please go to www.roxyregionaltheatre.org for a list of upcoming events.

Rita Arancibia will be at "ingredients" Thursday, Oct. 8 at 11:00 to serve Squash/Pumpkin Soup and HUMMUS made from olives (she bought from us) and fresh chickpeas. Please stop in for a taste treat and to meet Rita.

The Downtown Market is open Saturday, 8-1. The season for the market is winding down (I believe Oct. 24 is their last day). Please stop by in support of local vendors. We want them all to return next year.

Thank all of you who attended the First Thursday Art Walk, Oct. 1. We had a wonderful turnout as did the other business's I talked to. If you haven't attended an art walk yet, you are missing out on a family fun time. You can eat at one of the downtown restaurants before or after you examine (and purchase if you desire) local art work. Of course the downtown stores are opened for your shopping pleasure!

Thanks for "listening".

Monica

P.S. Linda J. Hawkins, author of "Alexander and the Great Food Fight", "Alexander and the Great Vegetable Feud" and "Catering to Children" will be at "ingredients" October 23, 2-5 for a book signing and to demonstrate how to make "hat" cookies. Please mark your calendar. I will be sending more information soon.

First Attempt

Well here I am. Blogging. Kendall is behind this all of the way and I do thank her for giving me a nudge. Mitchell and I were at the Gourmet Market last weekend and we are excited about our "finds". We will be carrying an Italian line of foods called "Galli". I could have stayed there all day eating the samples. It is a good thing that was our last food booth. Galli is one of many new items. You will need to stop in "ingredients" and see.

There is a meeting here tonight of the Dental Hygienist. This is our second gathering of this kind and I am anxious to see how it goes.

A lot will be happening downtown in the next few weeks. Jammin' in the Alley tomorrow; Frolic on Franklin (and Strawberry Alley Saturday); of course the downtown market is Saturday 8-1, and the Art Walk is October 1. There is much more after happening after October 1 that I will write about later.

Well that Dental Hygienists are arriving, so I better go and play hostess. Bon Appetit.

Welcome to ingredients!

We are excited to announce the introduction of our blog!

And stay tuned soon for the unveiling of our new website!

We will start by featuring a few of our exclusive lines, and share our upcoming class schedule.