Cheddar Cheesecake

Cheddar Cheesecake Crust:

1/4 cup fine bread crumbs, toasted 1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non stick cooking spray. Mix bread crumbs and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese then sprinkle mixture into pan, turning to coat. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Filling:

6 ounces thinly sliced ham

3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened

3/4 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

3/4 cup chopped green onion

4 eggs

3 tablespoons jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons milk

1 garlic clove, halved

Dice about half of ham and reserve remaining slices. With electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the reserved ham slices and blend until smooth.

Pour half of filling into prepared pan and top with reserved ham slices in even layer. Cover with remaining filling and set pan on a baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn oven off and cool cheesecake about 1 hour with door ajar.

Transfer cheesecake to rack and loosen cake from edge of the pan with a sharp knife but don't remove the sides of pan.

Cool to room temperature before removing the rim and serving.

Cheddar Cheesecake-->Savory Cheesecakes