Veggie Bars

My best friend's mom is my expert in comfort food. Her home was the place to be for turkey, lasagna, cookies, breakfast, the day after Christmas, Christmas in July, and I'm stopping myself short here.

I wanted a crowd pleaser for a lunchtime potluck last week and I started craving her veggie bars. That there recipe is a pot luck worthy one. I couldn't find the copy of the recipe she gave me, so I searched by ingredient for an online version which yielded tons of similar tried and tested recipes.

2 packages of lesser fat Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 package of 44% less fat Philly cream cheese (yes, it is 44%)

1 package of dry Ranch salad dressing mix

a bunch of coarsely grated cheddar cheese, the really normal kind

a half cup of finely diced red onions

a half cup of finely diced green peppers

some chopped chives

about a cup mixture of finely chopped broccoli and cauliflower

one grated carrot

pepper and cayenne to taste

Mix creamed cheese with Ranch mix, and refrigerate an hour.

Prepare the chopped things.

Roll out the Pillsbury dough on a cookie sheet and bake according to instructions. Spread the cheese onto the dough after it's cooked and cooled.

Sprinkle with pepper and cayenne, then veggies and cheddar.

Cut into bars.

Cool it or eat right away.

Great recipe to make the night before if you have Cling Wrap that actually clings, not like my silly non-cling brand-named wrap.

I baked the dough as two separate entities, brought the lot to lunch and returned home with a full pizza. My Jack Skeleton mug makes the food looks evil, but it's pure goodness. Next morning I popped a couple lactose enzyme pills and overdosed on the cheesy for breakfast.