Lemon Cheese Bars

Yesterday I had to bake a couple of desserts and make a salad for a ladies' church function, AND I had to fix a dinner for my family because I wasn't going to be here for dinner because I was going to be at that function. AND, thanks to tropical storm Erin, it was raining which meant I was NOT under any circumstances leaving the house with the kids to go to the store. So, I had to use what I had on hand. I'll be sharing those recipes over the next couple of days.

Anyway, here is one of the desserts I made. The original recipe came from The Cake Mix Bible. I didn't like the way the cheese part tasted, so I added a little extra. Here's my version of this recipe. As a tip, always keep cake mix on hand (I always pick up several different flavors when they are on sale for $1 a piece). You can make cookies and desserts like this when you are in a bind. Also, always keep some cream cheese on hand. I was glad I had picked up a couple of packages last time ... the expiration date is usually way out so I always pick up a couple when they are on sale (1/3 fat of course).

Ingredients

1 box of yellow cake mix with pudding in it
2 eggs
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 eight oz. package of 1/3 fat cream cheese (use full fat if you want)
3/4 C. sugar (less if you want it less sweet)
2 Tbsp. of lemon juice (more or less to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, ONE egg and oil in a large bowl; stir until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into ungreased 13x9 pan. (This will look like it is not enough, but it is ...just keep pressing it until it is all connected ... it will be a thin layer) Bake 15 minutes until golden brown. Combine remaining egg, cream cheese (I put it in the microwave for about 20 second to soften it), sugar, lemon juice, vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until smooth and well blended. Spread over baked layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake another 15 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. I made 24 bars out of this, but the original recipe said 18 (those would be really big bars).