Meatless Monday - French Onion Dip Pizza (MAKE THIS NOW)

Am trying to eat healthier.  You know, embrace the Meatless Monday thing.  Spring is here (although, here in Wisconsin, Mother Nature appears to be bi-polar), and we all need to get it together for beach season....blah, blah, blah.  WHAT. EVER.

Anyway....

If you like French Onion Dip, and really, who doesn't, you NEED to make this.  Is so NOT healthy, but, hey - it's meatless, so there.

French Onion Dip Pizza
Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 ball fresh pizza dough
• 1 cup crme fraiche or sour cream
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place a large skillet over medium heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and gently cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Stir in the garlic the last 8-10 minutes of cooking time.

While the onions are cooking, stretch the pizza dough out to the size of your pan (you can use a baking sheet or round pizza pan, whatever you have). Transfer the dough onto the pan and bake until set and very light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

When the onions are ready, season them with salt and pepper, and stir in the crme fraiche or sour cream. Spread the mixture over the pre-baked pizza crust. Sprinkle the cheeses and thyme over the pizza and return it to the oven. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Sustenance In a Hailstorm

Spring is here.  Finally.  The Winter With No End appears to, very possibly, have ended.  Let us rejoice in Brewers baseball, Amen.

With Spring comes rain.  And, because we GO BIG OR STAY HOME here in Wisconsin, today's rain brought hail.  Of course it did. 

Rainy cold days call for one thing:  homemade soup.  I'm not a huge soup fan, but The Roommate and The Oldest?  LOVE IT.  I had homemade chicken stock in the freezer (thanks, Roommate!), some chicken and veggies hanging out in the fridge.  Because I do what I can for Marital Harmony....I made soup.  As per usual, my girl Ina does not disappoint here.  I messed with it, as that's what I do.  You do as you do.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

Deb's additions in italics

Yield:
6 servings

Ingredients:
1 whole (2 split) chicken breast, bone in, skin on
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts Chicken Stock (homemade is awesome, boxed from a shelf works just fine)

1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
1 cup medium-diced carrots (3 carrots) 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced leeks

Parmesan rind (save rinds from blocks of cheese in a ziplock in the freezer - add them to soup & stews)

Squirt of Sriracha
2 cups wide egg noodles
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred or dice the chicken meat.

Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot and add the celery, carrots, leeks, garlic, parmesan rind, Sriracha and noodles. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the noodles are cooked. Add the cooked chicken meat and parsley and heat through.  If parmesan does not dissolve into the soup, remove before serving.

Season to taste and serve.