Delicious Vegetable Bars

By Chef Selwyn Richards
Culinary Specialist

Do you have problems getting your children to eat their vegetables? If you do, you may want to try these vegetable bars.

They taste so good your children may not complain the next time you ask them to eat their veggies.

The eight ingredients for these vegetable bars are commonly found in today’s kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls
1 – 8 ounce container of cream cheese
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch original salad dressing mix
1 cup of fresh cauliflower florets, diced
3/4 cup of fresh broccoli florets, diced
3/4 cup of freshly grated carrots
1 small bottle of bacon bits

Method:
1.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Open the crescent roll package and carefully unroll them.
3.  Press the crescent rolls into the bottom of an 11 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan being sure that the seams are closed.
4.  Bake the dough for 8 to 10 minutes.
5.  Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
6.  While the crescent roll crust is cooling, you can add the cream cheese, mayonnaise and salad dressing mix to a small bowl.
7.  Using a hand mixer, combine the ingredients until they are smooth.
8.  If the crust is cool, spread the mixture over the crust and set it aside.
9.  Chop the vegetables into very small pieces and sprinkle them over the cheese mixture.
10. Press them slightly into the cheese and then sprinkle the bacon bits over the top.
11. Place the entire crust in the refrigerator, covered lightly with plastic wrap.
12. When it is time to serve the Vegetable Bars, you will want to remove them from the refrigerator and cut them into small bars.
13. Then arrange the bars on a serving platter.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with this recipe. You could add chopped green onions, diced water chestnuts or diced red bell pepper. Let your imagination go and come up with some ideas of your own.

If you know your child likes a particular vegetable, try to incorporate that into the vegetable bar, as well. Once your child has tried these appetizers, you may not have to fight with them to eat their vegetables again.

Selwyn Richards is an award-winning master chef. He is also the President and Executive Chef at The Art of Catering Inc. and is the author of “The Art of Cooking: Soul of The Caribbean”. Chef Selwyn can be reached at: selwyn@theartofcatering.com or by phone — (905) 619-1059.