
Yes, I know I did that title already with "B". But, as I was typing up the Carrot Cake Light recipe I realized I made a lot of things last week that begin with C:
- carrot cake cupcakes with pineapple cream cheese icing
- caramelized onion dip with crunchy pita chips
- candy cane heart confections
- chicken chow mein

The chow mein was just a throw together of leftovers in the fridge, no real recipe. Throw chopped vegetables and minced garlic and ginger in a wok with a few tablespoons of olive oil, add some julienned chicken and ham once the veggies were starting to get a bit soft, toss in some left over angel hair pasta, splash on some soy sauce and voila - dinner and a cleaned out fridge!
I got the idea for the candy cane hearts from Family Fun Magazine, but made it with what I had on hand. No sticks, dark instead of white chocolate and sprinkes instead of nonpareils. I have nonpareils, but I refuse to bring them out since I am still finding orange and green ones in hidden recesses of the kitchen after I let Justin sprinkle them on the Halloween cookies.

The caramelized onion dip was quick and easy and I had everything on hand. Just be forewarned that you start with a skillet full of onions and end up with only a cup or so of dip. If you have enough room in your skillet consider doubling it. The boys LOVED the pita chips, which were made with some pitas I picked up on the day old rack at the store for 75 cents! and tossed in the freezer to use in a pinch.

I love carrot cake. It was probably one of the first desserts I learned to make on my own. It should be dense and moist and topped with rich and creamy cream cheese icing. Through experimentation with a variety of recipes, both low fat and regular, I have come up with my own that I think is as good as any I have tasted if I may be so bold. And it is only 6 points on weight watchers per serving if you make 24 and half of that is the icing! But I love my pineapple cream cheese icing...
Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey
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