Challenge Day 1: Turtle Brownie Cheesecake

Its my first day back in the saddle as WAHM(work-at-home mom) and DH's second day at his new job, as well as, his birthday!  Wishing you a happy birthday, Love!

Hubby with his terribly decorated turtle brownie cheesecake(my piping skills need some work)

My biggest dilemma today was trying to figure out a great birthday treat for DH's birthday using what I had on hand.  A)I'm to stubborn to run the store B)too lazy to go the store and C)most importantly wasn't going to pay full price for something because I didn't plan well. I usually make him a cheesecake but we only had two thawed blocks of cream cheese, one frozen solid block, and one green fuzzy block(fridge clean-out tomorrow!).  Here's what I tossed together with what I had on hand with modifications based on its shortcomings:

Turtle Brownie Cheesecake:

1 box of  Turtle brownie mix(I have like 10 of these in my stockpile)
3 8oz packages of cream cheese
2/3 C sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla(I substituted Bailey's Irish Cream with a Hint of Caramel)

Make brownie mix as directed on box and bake at 350 degrees for 20 min or until set in a greased springform pan.(The original called for baking it 35 min. I baked it 25 and it was over cooked.) Lower oven temp to 325 degrees.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth(to get a really great fluffy texture I let it cream in the stand mixer for 3-5 min.). Fold in one egg at a time until barely mixed. This is the key to a great cheesecake. Make sure not to over beat your eggs. (I only had 2 blocks of cream cheese so I scaled back the other ingredients as well-it lacked cheesecakness.)

Pour cheesecake mixture into springform pan over the baked brownie. Return to the 325 degree oven and bake for 35-40 min until center is nearly set. Let cool on a rack for 1 hr and then cool in fridge for 3 hrs before eating.