End of Summer Pesto Veggie Bars

My Mom came up to make some curtains for our kitchen today.  Since I don't know how to sew I wasn't a whole lot of help.  She was going to book club in the evening and mentioned that she needed to run to the store to grab a snack to take since she didn't have time to make one. I had several yellow tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from the garden on the kitchen counter, so I offered to whip up an appetizer for the book club. 

We decided on a veggie tart because it used ingredients I had on hand and would travel well.  With a biscuit crust, pesto cream cheese and a variety of fresh vegetables topped with parmesan cheese these veggie bars are easy to make and versatile.  You could use any combination of vegetables that you have on hand.  Sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, green onions, mushrooms, and thinly sliced carrots would all be nice additions to these bars.

•1 heaping cup of all purpose flour
•1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 cup shortening
•1/2 cup milk 
•1/4 cup pesto- homemade or prepared
•1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
•Assorted fresh vegetables, chopped into small pieces-  I used some fresh onion, a yellow tomato, one red tomato, some green pepper, and a small cucumber
•A few Tablespoons Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease an 8x8 inch pan.  Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.  Mix in the shortening with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in the milk to form a dough.  Press the dough into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for 11-13 minutes, until done.  Let cool completely.

Mix the cream cheese and pesto together in a small bowl.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit crust making sure to cover all the edges and corners. 

Top with fresh vegetables and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.  Chill until serving.  Cut into small squares.