Southwest Appetizer Cheesecake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

plain tortilla chips or nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 cup cottage cheese
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, well drained
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) container jalapeno cheddar cheese dip (I use Frito-Lay)
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced sliced pitted black olives

Preparation

Place tortilla chips in a large Ziploc bag.
Finely crush chips with mallet or rolling pin to measure 2/3 cup.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine crushed chips and margarine; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, process cottage cheese in processor or blender until smooth.
Beat cream cheese and cottage cheese in large bowl with and electric mixer on med. speed until well blended.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in cheddar cheese and chilies.
Pour mixture over baked crust.
Return to oven; bake 60 minutes.
Combine sour cream and dip in small bowl; mix thoroughly.
Remove cheesecake from oven and carefully pour sour cream mixture evenly over top.
Return cheesecake to oven; bake 10 minutes more.
Remove cheesecake from oven.
Let stand at room temperature to cool slightly.
Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool completely before removing rim.
Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve.
Just before serving, top with the tomatoes, green onions and olives.
Cut into wedges to serve.
Note: The 8 oz. cans of jalepeno cheddar dip are found, usually, on the rack in front of the tortilla chips, and potato chips.