Church Cookbookin'

There are many many reasons why my past self would seriously roll her eyes at my present self. For one, I find myself wearing flats, rather than heels, with dresses and skirts. Say whaaaa? Does it help that they’re cute Michael Kors flats?

 

For two, I wake up at 5 a.m. You crazy! Stuff gotta get done ‘round here. Sleeping in? Nope. I did that in my 20s.

 

For three, I shop at thrift stores. GET OUTTA HERE. Used clothing? Ew ew ew ew ew. Except…it’s awesome. Much of the stuff I find still has the original tags on it. So that drives the ish factor down quite a bit. And, there’s nothing (I hope) that two cycles through the wash can’t get rid of (I hope).

 

I’ve noticed that a staple of thrift stores is old cookbooks. That got me thinking- I really don’t have any cookbooks at home, which is maybe odd given I’m a dietitian. When I’m cruising for recipes, I look online. All the time. Google me a hotdish, mmk?

 

There is something kind of cute about cookbooks, especially homemade ones. Growing up we had a big stack of various church cookbooks, complete with recipes ranging from chicken Divan to coffee cake. My mom still has those cookbooks, so I thought it could be fun to find some basic recipes and jazz them up a bit (ok for four, I use phrases like “jazz them up”).

 

 

 

 

Here’s a church cookbook recipe that I grew up with, and has quickly become a potluck staple for me:

 

Veggie Bars

1 tube crescent roll dough

1/2 block (4 oz) Neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature

¼ cup olive oil reduced fat mayo

~2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

¼ teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon onion powder

2 cups chopped veggies- I typically buy a bag of precut broccoli/cauliflower/carrots, but you could add bell peppers, radishes, celery, etc.

½ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a nonstick baking sheet, roll out crescent dough, keeping it in one large rectangle. Spray a rolling pin with nonstick cooking spray, and evenly roll out the crescent dough slightly thinner, making sure to close up the seams. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

 

Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and mayo in a medium bowl. Beat until fully combined and smooth. Add dill, garlic, and onion powder. Spread on cooled crescent crust.

 

Spread chopped veggies on top, gently pressing them into the cream cheese mixture to prevent them from falling off as you eat them. Sprinkle with cheese. Cut into 1”x2” pieces and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

You could easily adapt this recipe- perhaps a spicy version by omitting the dill, topping with corn, shredded chicken, and roasted jalapenos. You could make a pastry-ish sweet version too- omit the dill/garlic/onion, beat in a few drops of liquid stevia or white sugar to the cream cheese, and top with sautéed apples, cinnamon, and toasted walnuts.

 

Next week's recipe? Rainbow fluff Jell-O salad!...

 

...or not.