Egg Drop Soup

This recipe is from Menus4Moms, but the pictures are from my kitchen. My comments are in italics.

Egg Drop Soup 

(I actually made wanton soup because it sounded better to my hubby)

3 cups chicken broth
1 green onion with part of green top, chopped
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 eggs slightly beaten
frozen wanton sheets (optional)

Heat chicken broth, salt and pepper to boiling in saucepan.Stir green onions into eggs.

Pour egg mixture slowly into boiling broth, stirring constantly with fork to form shreds of egg.

If you want to add fried wantons to your soup, you can buy frozen wanton sheets (wrappers - not on the grocery list), thaw them and slice them into strips. Deep fry the strips and serve on top of soup.


This is me experimenting again.
Ok, I'm going to try and remember how I made the wantons. I was in a hurry and did not look up a recipe, or write down what I was doing. The good news is that even the kids at the potluck ate the wantons, so they must have turned out ok. I actually did not get one--too far back in the line.
Here is what I remember:
1 pound sausage, browned
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
2 Tablespoons Thai Chili Sauce
1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter

I mixed it all up and then pulsed it in my blender because it was not as smooth as I wanted. Then I placed them on the wanton sheets. I placed about a teaspoon of meat, dampened the edges of the wrapper and sealed the edges together. (Fold in half so it forms a triangle with the meat in the middle. Hold it with the center tip pointing up.Fold the two sides in together and pinch tightly after dampening the tips. I have a little bowl of water that I dip my finger in to dampen the dough.)

This picture was taken before I pulsed the meat. See how clumpy it was?

Mexican Corn Chowder

This recipe came from Menus4Moms, but the pictures are from my kitchen. My comments are in italics. Just so you know, you do not have to pay for a subscription in order to view the archives. Simply click on Basic Dinner Menu on the left side bar and scroll down. I have not had any problems opening, viewing and printing the recipes or grocery lists from the 2009 list. It was very easy to make and I thought it was delicious with the cornbread. It was a little thin for my hubby.

Mexican Corn Chowder

2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 cup cooked onions (I sauteed them with the garlic before doing step one below)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
1/2 - 1 tsp cumin, ground
2 cups half & half
3 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded (my kids ate all the jack cheese, so I used Swiss and cheddar)
2 cans creamed style corn
1 can green chilies, chopped; undrained
4 oz. jar pimiento, diced--(I left these out, but added drained diced tomatoes for the red. Diced red bell pepper would be great too.)
fresh cilantro or parsley, optional
tortilla chips, optional

1. Combine chicken, onions, garlic, chicken broth, and cumin; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. 

2. Add half & half, cheese, corn, chilies, and hot pepper sauce (this wasn't listed in the ingredients, and I left it out). Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Stir in pimiento. Serve immediately. 

3. Garnish with cilantro, parsley, and tortilla chips, if desired. (We just ate cornbread with it.)

Yam and Apple Soup

I made a soup last night that sounded good, looked good, and smelled delicious. Funny thing is I can't decide what I really think. I've been craving Butternut Squash soup (I had a good recipe two years ago and lost it!), but I did not want to actually mess with preparing the squash. I remember a recipe that had me buy frozen squash, but I could never find it in the store. I did however find frozen yams. So, I thought I would try to make a soup out of that.

Creamy and sweet with a touch of cinnamon. I liked it, but I'm not used to my soups being sweet. I think that is what is throwing me off. My husband liked the flavor, but he prefers chunky soups to pureed soups. Tonight I am going to serve it at a dinner party so I can get more input on whether this was a success or not. I love friends who are willing to be my guinea pigs! Perhaps I should call them "Beta Tasters"? When you give your novel/manuscript to someone you trust to read, review and critique you call them beta readers, so it makes sense to have beta tasters too. Doesn't it?

Yam and Apple Soup

* 1--32 ounce package frozen yam patties
* 1 stalk celery, diced
* handful baby carrots, diced
* 2 green onions (what do you call these?)
* 1 red delicious apple, peeled and sliced
* 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* dash of nutmeg
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1--12 ounce can fat free evaporated milk (would be even better with heavy cream, but I was trying to lighten it up)
* 1 to 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)

1. I placed the frozen yams in a pot and added just enough water to cover them. Actually, they were not completely covered, so add enough water to keep them from sticking the the pan (guessing about 2 cups water). I also added the celery, carrots, green onion, and apple and brought it to a boil. Turn down to medium heat and cook until the vegetables are tender and the yams are thawed and getting mushy--about 10 minutes.

2. Place the mixture into a blender and puree. I had to do this in 2 stages. Return to the pot and add the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, lemon juice and evaporated milk. Warm through, stirring occasionally. Salt to taste and serve.

Look at the cinnamon. It was so pretty to look at.

I'll update with my friends opinions tomorrow.

Black Bean and Ham Soup (aka ugly soup!)

This may be one of the ugliest soups I have ever put together, but the flavor was soooo good! It is really a "what in the world am I going to do with these leftovers" kind of deal. This is what I had on hand:* about 4 slices left over ham from Christmas, frozen (it was a brown sugar glazed ham, so it was sweet)
* 1 baggie of black beans, drained, frozen
* a small handful of baby carrots
* a take out container full of fried rice from the local Chinese restaurant, with extra brown sauce

Mmmm, no one is going to just eat any of that--at least not in my house (although I would). I'm thinking about the "swamp soup" my mother in law had in her fridge over Christmas break. It looked awful but sure tasted good, so let's turn it into soup!

I dump all the ingredients in a pot with a can of beef broth, sprinkle in dried onion flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I let it simmer until it started to thicken and gave it a try. It was really good! The subtle hint of sugar in the ham was balanced by the beans. The carrots gave it color and the rice made it even more filling. I wonder if I will ever be able to duplicate this?

30 Minute Minestrone

You've gotta love quick and yummy! The only skill this soup requires is the ability to open a can and dump it in the pan. From start to finish it only takes 30 minutes and it was really good.

30 Minute Minestrone

* 4 cups water (later the recipe calls for 4 teaspoons bouillon granules, so I just used 2 cans which equal 4 cups of broth. You can use chicken or beef broth. I used chicken this time. You can make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth.)
* 2 cups miniature peeled carrots
* 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
* 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes (seasoned if you want more flavor)
* 1 cup chopped onion (I just sprinkled in dried onion flakes, about 1 tablespoon. I was being really lazy.)
* 4 teaspoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules or 2 teaspoons regular beef bouillon granules
* 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (I added 1 teaspoon powdered garlic, fresh would have been better, but see the lazy comment above.)
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 can no salt added Italian green beans, drained
* 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
* 1/2 cup elbow macaroni, alphabet macaroni, or broken spaghetti, uncooked
* 1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
* I added crumbled crispy bacon as a garnish...mmm, bacon...
1. In a large saucepan, combine water and bouillon (or broth), carrots, beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the Parmesan and bacon, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until pasta is done.

3. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.
From the American Heart Association Quick and Easy Cookbook, 1995, pg 55.
Serves 6 as a main dish (1 and 2/3 cups a serving)
204 Calories, 11 g Protein, 37 g Carbs, 3 mg Cholesterol, 278 mg Sodium, 3 g Fat

Turkey Wild Rice Soup--Charity Style!

Have you figured out what my style is yet? Turkey Wild Rice Soup--Charity Style means of course--no turkey or wild rice! Ha ha! I used chicken and plain old brown rice, but this soup was still a hit with my family. I made homemade wheat rolls to go with it and it seriously tasted like biscuits and gravy with chicken instead of sausage. It had a few steps, but they were easy steps. The soup was creamy and I will definitely add this to my "make again" list. I thought it was filling enough with the rolls and a salad, but I did worry that the missionaries left a little bit hungry.

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of it. Since we had the missionaries over for dinner and in the rush to get everything ready I forgot to take a picture. There were no left overs so I will take a picture next time and add it to the post.

Ingredients:
3 (10 1/2 ounces) cans chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (I used about 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion)
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice (brown rice)
8 slices bacon (I completely omitted, I image we would have died from the perfection of the added bacon!)
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced turkey (or chicken)

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine chicken broth, water, chopped onion and rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until rice is tender.

2. If using bacon, cook it until crisp while the rice is cooking. When the bacon is crisp, let it cool, crumble and set aside. This is when I cooked my chicken. I pan fried it in a little olive oil sprinkled with salt.

3. In a medium saucepan (I actually used the same skillet that I cooked my chicken in--it has high straight sides) over medium heat, place margarine. Add flour, salt, poultry seasoning and pepper and mix well. Cook, stirring frequently until bubbly and smooth. Stir in half and half and cook until thickened about 2 minutes. YES! You are making gravy to put in the soup! This is why it tastes so yummy.

4. Add the gravy, crumbled bacon, and diced turkey to rice mixture and cook until heated through.

Makes 9 servings

A great lunch choice

We have a family friend who has lost a lot of weight over the last year by eating soup for lunch. You may also remember me mentioning the Dana Thornock Eat and Be Lean cookbook/diet. She also likes soups for lunch with a slice of whole grain bread with low fat cream cheese and sugar free preserves. I love soups so this is something easy for me to do. Here is the trick, you have to choose naturally lower fat and lower calorie soups. So the heavy cream based soups aren't going to help.

Here are some good choices from the Campbell's Chunky Soup line. There are other great brands and choices out there, this is just what I grew up with. :) All nutrition info is for half a can, which is plenty!

Grilled Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (spicy, yum!)--140 calories, 2.5 g fat
Beef and Barley--170 calories, 2.5 g fat
Bean and Ham--180 calories, 2 g fat
Grilled Sirloin Steak with Vegetables--130 calories, 2 g fat
Classic Chicken Noodle--110 calories, 2.5 g fat
And this one slipped in, notice the difference in fat content:
Chicken and Corn Chowder--200 calories (not bad), 10 g fat (big difference compared to the others!)

1 slice whole grain bread is about 100 calories, give or take a few depending on what it is, and 1 tablespoon low sugar or sugar free preserves is about 25 calories. Light cream cheese is about 60 calories and 5 g fat for 2 tablespoons. This makes this meal around 250-300 calories depending on the soup you pick. Not too bad!

Slow Cooker Spiced Chicken

Ha ha, I found this on my friend Flori's blog today and thought I would just pass it along. Here is what she wrote about it.

"A delicous new dinner idea.
Last night we made this delicious Moroccan Chicken Stew for dinner. It all went right in the crockpot and turned out great. I added some extra chicken since we had guests and there was plenty for everyone. If you're looking for something easy and different, try it and let me know what you think! We served it with pitas & hummus and a green salad. It would also be great with fruit."

Thanks for a great Sunday meal idea!

Apple-Squash soup

Have you wondered what some of my food flops look like? Here is one:

There is this cute little restaurant nearby that has a yummy squash and apple soup. It inspired me to find a recipe to try. The picture of it in the book does not look anything, and I mean ANYTHING like the above. Next time I will just make my favorite Butternut squash soup and just add the apples because I know I like the flavor of that soup.

This one called for 1/2 a cup (HALF a freakin' cup!) of mustard. MUSTARD! Now, I didn't even put that much. I only put 1/4 cup and it was still over powering. It looked and smelled like a baby's diaper. So Laura, you were right! I should have listened and left the mustard completely out. The whole pan went down the garbage disposal.

So, my advice? Unless you really love mustard, don't make the Apple-Squash Soup recipe in the Light Cooking Book on page 117!

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

This yummy dish makes a great side for a multi-course meal. It tastes a lot like taco soup, but looks fancier. It is also great because it only took 10 minutes to make. You should serve tortilla chips with it, but we had already eaten all of our with the avocado salsa :)

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

* 2 cans (15oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (mine was not vegetarian because I used chicken broth)
* 1 cup salsa (mild or hot to your preference)
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* Sour cream and tortilla chips to serve with it

1. In a blender, combine the beans, broth, salsa and cumin. Process 1 minute or until smooth.

2. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

3. Place in bowls and serve with 1 tablespoon cream cheese, swirl gently.

Servings: 4, 220 calories, 4 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 1130 mg sodium (cut this down by making your own black beans instead of using the canned)

Vegetable Beef Stew and Biscuits--Crock Pot

This was a really easy and really good stew. I didn't think my kids were going to eat much of it, so we invited friends over to help eat it and by golly we were almost liking the pot clean! Even the kids! I made homemade biscuits to go with it and I think it was a different recipe than I previously posted so I'll post it as well today. A note about the pictures: I took some cooking pictures and then planned to take a picture of it all finished with a biscuit. We were eating before I thought of it again and the next thing I knew it was all gone and my friend was saying, "Oh, you forgot to take a picture!" And so I did. Just take my word for it, it looked yummy, smelled even better and the taste was worth the wait.

Browning the meat. I didn't cook it all the way through,
and it was still a little pink when I added it to the crock pot.This is what it looked like when I added it to the pot.
I decided later to add a can of corn (not drained) and some frozen peas.

Vegetable Beef Stew
* 1 pound lean stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces (I just bought pre-cut stew meat)
* 3-4 cups canned tomatoes
* 3-4 carrots, peeled and cubed
* celery stalks, sliced and cut the way you like
* 6 large potatoes, peeled and cut
* 2 large onions, diced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Optional ingredients:
* can whole kernel corn
* 1 can or about 1 cup frozen peas
* 2 beef bouillon cubes

1. Brown meat in a large pan. (I sprinkled with salt and my favorite pepper seasoning).

2. Put meat and all the ingredients into a crock pot (save the corn and peas for the last hour). I crushed two beef bouillon cubes up and added them as well. If you like spicier foods you could add chilies or red pepper flakes. Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

****I actually cooked it on high for 3 hours then turned it to low for 5 hours. If you want you can also cook it in the oven at 250 degrees for 3 to 4 hours.****
239 Calories, 7 g fat, 499 mg sodium

Biscuits--These turned out better than my old recipe. They were crispy on the top and bottom but soft in the middle and not overly heavy. All in all they were quite yummy.

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup shortening, margarine, or butter (I used butter)
* 2/3 cup milk

1. Stir together dry ingredients and then cut in the shortening or butter. Add milk and stir until the dough clings together. It will seem crumbly and not really like a dough.

2. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently just enough to stick it together for rolling. The more you knead the heavy and less "airy" the biscuit will be. Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut your biscuits.

3. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till golden brown. Makes 10 (2 1/2 inch) biscuits.

191 calories, 11 g fat, 152 mg sodium

Fresh Orange Cake and White Beans with Greens Soup

A surprise Sunday post! Aren't you impressed! I was thinking about how busy I'm going to be preparing for Thanksgiving dinner and thought I would get some recipes in early. I think I made the soup on Thursday and when I hit my 50k word goal for Nanowrimo on Saturday I made the Orange juice cake. It also turned out that the dinner appointment I was taking it to was a sneaky birthday dinner for my good friend Laura. Her birthday is actually Monday, but I didn't even know that! I'm such a bad friend. I was so relieved that I took one of my best and favorite cake recipes for her to enjoy.

I like this soup and this is actually the second time that I've made it. My family however does not like the way it looks with the greens floating in the broth. Kiah did try it and said it wasn't bad, except for the green stuff and the beans. That leaves just the broth people! *sighs* I keep trying though.

White Bean Soup with Greens

* 1 1/2 pounds Swiss Chard, escarole, or beet greens, trimmed (I've used turnip greens both times because that is what I could find. I also learned that trimmed means take the leafy part off the stem part. How is that for a technical explanation *wink* You don't have to chop it up because it will fall to pieces when you cook it.)
* 6 cups chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 cup cooked white beans (This time I used a can, but last time I made from dried beans
* 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
* Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (I used my favorite Asiago again, love that nutty flavor!)
* Red-pepper flakes, for garnish

1. Bring a large pat of water to a boil over med-high heat. Add the greens and cook for 7 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain the greens, squeezing out as much water as possible.

2. Bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot over med-high heat. Add the garlic and greens.

3. If using canned white beans, place them in a strainer and rinse them under cold water to remove excess sodium. Add the beans to the broth. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the pepper to taste. (the recipe actually calls for salt to, but the first time I made it, it was way too salty. This time I did not add any salt and it was just fine, so if you add salt do it slowly.)

4. Ladle the sou into bowls and garnish with cheese and pepper flakes.

Makes 6 servings--79 calories, 2 g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1,008mg sodium (The SB Diet cookbook, page 96.)

Fresh Orange Cake

Cake:
* 1 package yellow cake mix with pudding
* 1 cup fresh orange juice (use 100%, not from concentrate)
* 1/2 cup good vegetable oil (such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower)
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (it is more expensive, but worth it)
* 4 large eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a Bundt pan with vegetable spray and then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour.

2. Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides. Mix at med speed for 2 minutes more or until the batter looks thick and well blended. Pour into the pan.

3. Bake until golden brown and the cake just starts to pull away from the sides--45 to 47 minutes.

4. Let it cool on a rack for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then cool completely before adding the glaze.

Note: This cake is very versatile. I've done it in a Bundt pan with the glaze that follows, and I've made it as a round cake with butter cream. A few times I've made a whipped cream/yogurt filling and added strawberries and pineapple (mmm, yummy!).

Glaze:
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1. Mix and drizzle over cooled cake. I usually don't wait for it to cool and then I have to keep scooping up the glaze from the pan and pouring it over the cake again. So try to be more patient than me. :) (from the Cake Mix Doctor , pg 79)

Cream of Broccoli/Cauliflower Soup

Sorry to totally rearrange the menu on you, but we had company for dinner last night and I thought this meal would be nice to serve. I really like this soup, but for some reason it turns out different every time I make it. Same recipe, different results each time. I prefer to use fresh broccoli, but sometimes I use the frozen bags for convenience. I also prefer to leave the veggies in pieces, but last night my daughter asked me to blend it up. She said she could eat broccoli if it wasn't in big pieces, so I did that for her. I guess it worked because she ate two bowls of it.

I also made bread bowls for this meal. My husband and I LOVE Panera Bread. My soup bowls didn't look as nice, they were huge shallow bowls, but they did taste good. I just realized as I was typing this that I need to use a different bread recipe than what I actually did last night. I used my wheat bread recipe, but I should have used the french bread recipe. I'll have to give that a try and then report on the differences.

This recipe comes from the Set for Life cookbook, pg 122. It makes 8 servings (I get more) at 94 calories, 1g fat, and 402mg sodium.

Cream of Broccoli Cauliflower Soup in Bread Bowls

*1/2 medium bunch of broccoli
*1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
*1 stalk celery, finely chopped
*1 large potato, diced
*1 small onion
*1 small carrot
*1 teaspoon salt
*1/4 cup cornstarch
*2 cups skim milk
*1/8 teaspoon white pepper
*1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
*1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. In a large saucepan, combine broccoli and or cauliflower, celery and potato. Peel, then cut onion and carrot in quarters. Place in blender with 1/2 cup water and pulse until finely chopped before adding to vegetables in pan. Add salt and enough water to barely cover vegetables. Cook unitl tender, but not mushy.

2. Mix cornstarch and milk. Stir into undrained vegetables and add pepper, bouillon, and Worchestershire sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Thin with more milk if desired.

3. Ok, here is where I deviate from the recipe. I add 1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup to the pot for a little cheesey flavor.

For dessert we had fruit parfaits. These are so easy and so versatile! We kept it simple last night. I divided some frozen strawberries, thawed into the 6 bowls, topped with Yoplait french vanilla yogurt and then sprinkled granola cereal on top. You can use any mixture of fruit in any form--frozen, fresh, canned(drain), and any kind of yogurt.

Chicken Capri Soup/German Cheesecake

Well, it is the end of the pay period for our family, and that means making the best of what is left in the fridge. I like to clean out everything before going shopping again, and a good way to use stuff up is to put it in a soup. So, this is a totally made up recipe, by me!

I think this soup is yummy, and so does my oldest daughter. We however both love soups. My husband is not a soup guy, and when he came home to this meal I could sense the barely concealed disappointment. He later told me it just didn't look very appetizing. I thought it did, but what I really liked was the smell. It smells heavenly while it is cooking! I think this soup would be even better with tortilla chips, sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top. We didn't have any of that, so we just had plain bread. I didn't have time to make French bread which might have made it nicer for the hubby. Oh, well. (Don't worry, he later went out and bought ice cream to make milkshakes, so he didn't starve.)

Chicken Capri Soup

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stalk green onion, chopped
• Left over chicken capri (see August 27th for recipe), cut into pieces or shredded, keep the ricotta and tomatoes to add to the soup.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• whatever left over veggies you have in the fridge (I had corn and peas, but you can add squash, broccoli, whatever)
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese (I wanted to throw the container away and that is about how much I scraped out).
• handful of Italian blend shredded cheese (also cleaning out the fridge)

1. In a blender, blend the first five ingredients until all the big pieces are chopped up really good.
2. Put it in a large sauce pan over med-high heat. Add the green onion, chicken pieces and toppings, cheese, and cream cheese and whatever left over veggies from your fridge. Turn down to medium heat while you do step 3.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt butter, mix in flour until smooth and then add the milk. Stir until smooth and thick. Pour into the main soup pan and warm through and serve.

I don't know the nutrition values for this--just more than the original recipe. :)

Here is another recipe that I got several years ago from someone at church. It is a easy to make dessert that is really yummy!

German Cheesecake

• 2 packages crescent rolls
• 2--8oz packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Open one crescent roll and pinch the seems to seal together. roll out, or press to fit a 11 x 13 baking dish.
2. With a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Spread over the dough in the pan.
3. Open the last crescent roll, pinch seams to seal, and roll out to cover the top of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 25 minutes. (In the past I have had problems getting the middle to cook before the edges are too brown and hard. The last time I made it, I used a 12 inch square cake pan and used the left overs to make another smaller batch. Using less filling made it easier for the middle to fully cook in the time span.)
5. While it is cooling you can make an optional glaze for it by mixing 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water or milk. Drizzle it over the cheesecake while still warm. cool completely before cutting into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.