Tori's Cheesecake

My friend Tori makes a super yummy cheesecake. When I asked her about it, she told me it was the easiest recipe ever. I asked her to share. I'm so glad she did - it was super easy to make and very delicious to eat! I know my sister Kendis doesn't believe cream cheese should be used for sweet dishes, but this cheesecake is wonderful! Tori has put mini chocolate chips in it, put chocolate on top of the crust, topped it with a raspberry sauce...it's all so good! I had a jar of my freezer strawberry jam from the summer, and I knew it would be a tasty topper for this cheesecake. Boy was it ever - like it was made for that sole purpose!

One note about cheesecakes...they sometimes split on top during or after the cooking process. I used a water bath in the oven in a pan underneath my cheesecake to prevent the splitting, and it worked during the cooking process. You are supposed to let the cheesecake cool in the oven (with the oven off and the oven door open) before removing it, and I'm thinking if I'd done that with the water bath intact during that time, it might not have split, but I had to get my lasagna in the oven, so I removed my cheesecake when it was done cooking and, well, it split a bit on top...but that's what the strawberry sauce was for! No one even noticed!

Tori's Cheesecake
Ingredients:

For the crust:
1.5 cups crushed graham crackers
2 tbs sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Mix together and press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

For the cheesecake:
(3) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
(1) 14-ounce can Eagle brand condensed milk
3 eggs
2 TBSP vanilla

1. Beat/whip cream cheese until light, add milk and mix until well incorporated. Mix in eggs, add vanilla. Pour into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes (until top springs back lightly when touched).

2. Open door of oven and cool in oven, then refrigerate.

3. When cool, top with topping of cheese or eat plain!