No Bake Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

I don't know if I've shared with you the pain that I have been going through the last month, my poor (just over a year old) oven is broken! :( And in order to fix it, I would have to spend just as much as it is worth..not happening..so the hubs and I are going to invest in a new one, and upgrade just a bit. Upgrading makes me happy! But until then, there is no baking for this girl...

In the meantime, we have been doing a lot of grilling, crock pot cooking, and stove top cooking. I am sure when I get a functioning oven, I will be baking up a storm to make up for lost time.

I was going to have my parents over for dinner so I wanted to make a nice a desert, but what could I make that did not require a lot of baking and was something that I had never made for them before?! Then, I came across a recipe for no bake cheesecake, tweaked it a bit to cut out any of the bad stuff I could and tried to add some good stuff and perfection...

My plan was to make individual ones in martini glasses, but by the time the day came around, I was tired so I just broke down and bought a graham cracker crust. Next time, martini glasses for sure! Wouldn't that be the cutest presentation, ever?!

Here are all the ingredients I used..

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker pie crust
• 8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 tub of reduced fat whipped topping
• 1 bag frozen raspberries (fresh would be better, but they did not have any when I went)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 lemons (zest of 2)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 Cup of Sugar

In  bowl mix together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, and then fold in the whipped topping. Once that is mixed, fold in the raspberries. (I beat the raspberries with a fork to mash them up a bit) Cover with wrap and let it refrigerate for 3 hours. Serve it with fresh raspberries (if available).

This recipe is so good, and was perfect for a cool summer night desert. The texture was a little different from a cheesecake, but it still had all the flavor, and tasted lighter. Next time, I will try switching out the raspberries for blueberries...YUM!

Thanks for reading! :)