Howdy!

The Ewe here.  I really like this recipe--it's easy and yummy.  We enjoyed this for St. Valentine's Day.  Remember, kids!   If you have long hair, brush it and put it up/back before you get in the kitchen; and when you get into the kitchen (whether you have long *or* short hair! ;-)  Wash your hands.  That's very, very important!  We don't want anyone to get sick from our cooking!  Ok...let's cook...

Here's what you'll need:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional--you may leave it out if you don't have any)

1 (6 ounce) graham cracker crust (you can buy this at the store)

2 eggs

First thing:  about 30 minutes before you're ready to cook, set out  the 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese to get soft.  Then...after those 30 minutes...

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  (An adult may need to help with that.)

Put the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice (if you're going to use it) into a mixing bowl.  Beat that with an electric mixer until it's all blended together well (again, an adult may have to help get the mixer going for you).  Add the eggs (crack them into a different bowl, then pour them from that bowl into your cheesecake mixture.  That way, if you get shells in the eggs, you won't mess up the whole mixture--just use a different couple eggs.)  After you have added the eggs, mix just enough to blend it all together.  (Don't over mix.)

Pour the mixture into your crust.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake is almost set.  (Don't go too long!)  Let it cool for a while on a cooling rack, or just the counter.  Then, refrigerate at least 3 hours.  Keep the leftovers (if there *are* any!) in the refrigerator.

 A tip: We like to put a little cherry pie filling (canned or homemade) on top for Cherry Cheesecake.  But my favorite way is plain.

Want to know something funny?  When  I was a child, I heard someone talking about  "cheesecake."  Well, the only kind of "cheese" I knew about was the kind in grilled cheese sandwiches!  So, I thought, "YUK!  Cheesecake sounds GROSS!!!"   :-)  I did eventually figure out that I like cheesecake.

Y'all cook up some fun!

The Ewe