Oreo Cheecake on "What's outside your kitchen window Wednesday"

Oreo Cheesecake. YUM!


I'm still on a baby high, so that's why this is a later in the day post for "What's Outside Your Kitchen" window.
(That's a better excuse than just plain old procrastination) (and thanks for all the baby congrats and comments you guys! They are doing well for as early as they are. I'll post some pictures tomorrow)

If you will recall... (inside my head I when I write that phrase, if you'll recall, I hear old cartoon voices from the late 60's early 70's. Like Rocky and Bullwinkle or Dudley Do-Right and Sweet Nell..."When we last left our heroes..." and, no, I'm really not crazy, even tho I'm hearing cartoon narrators voice-overs inside my head. LOL ) (I can remember all sorts of odd trivia from my childhood )

So, if you'll recall, last week, when I took a photo of outside my kitchen window, I "turned" in a different direction.
This week....3 pics, a 180 degree view of outside my kitchen window. (the camera seemed to be focusing on my window this time. )

I was trying to get my yellow iris and my purple lilacs.
If you want to see better photos of them check out my garden blog here.

If you click on this link, you can see how much we've greened up here in the high Nevada Desert, since I started doing this.

Speaking of cartoons and cartoon voices...what better treat when you were little than an Oreo? A couple of Oreos and a glass of milk? Eating Oreos, drinking a glass of milk and watching cartoons?
When we were kids and we would eat them, we'd have an "Oreo" ring around our lips. It didn't matter, because everyone else had Oreo rings around their lips too.
The only "store-bought" cookies we had when we were little were:
Oreos
Fig Newtons
Animal Crackers
and Coconut Macaroons.

And every once in a while Gingersnaps and Lemon Coolers (does anyone remember them?)

This list looks like a lot of "store-bought" cookies, and I said "only". LOL
My mom always had home-made cookies on hand....it was my grandparents who had the others.
Except for the Oreos. They must have been my father's favorite, because we always had Oreos in a cookie jar.

Here is a great "cheat" cheesecake made with Oreos. It's fast and easy and really, really, REALLY good.
I'm always the hero in my house when I make this cheesecake. But if I give credit where credit is due, this came from my good friend Shelly, another one of her signature dishes.
It's in our Friday Friend Cookbook. I think if you try it, you'll love it!

Oreo Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
4 T. melted butter
**mix and press into a 10" springform pan. Place in the freezer.

(I opted to use a store-made chocolate cookie crust . It was not big enough)

Filling:
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whip till stiff
3 8-oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
1 cup sugar
24 Oreo cookies, quartered
**whip cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and blend. Fold in cookie pieces. Add whipped cream. Turn filling into the frozen crust. Smooth top. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Glaze: (optional)
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate--melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup whipping cream
**Add whipping cream and vanilla to cooled chocolate. Glaze the top and sides of the cheesecake. Refrigerate 30 minutes until the glaze sets.

*****

The stuff you need...simple! (but I would advise you to make your own crust)

ebony and ivory