Southwestern Cheesecake

By DOMESTICDIVA

Fresh vegetables and cream cheese make this a wonderful appetizer. Not your typical sweet cheescake but just as mouth watering.

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
• 3 tbsp butter (melted)
• 2 8oz. pkgs cream cheese (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz. shreddeed colby/monterey jack cheese
• 4 oz. chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped yellow or orange bell pepper
• 1/2 cup green onion , sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Stir together chips and butter in small bowl; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and eggs in large mixing bowl at medium speed until well blended. Mix in shredded cheese and chiles; pour over crust. Bake 30 minutes

Spread sour cream over cheesecake.
Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing the rim. Chill.

Top with remaining ingredients just before serving.

Prep time: 20 minutes plus chilling.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Tip:
cut 3 diamond shapes out of parchment paper lay on top of cheesecake horizontally down the center. Place green onions slices around cutouts.
Remove cutouts; fill in with peppers.
Add a strip of tomatoes down the center & garnish with olives.