chicken with sun-dried tomato goat cheese

I'm not so creative with titles (see above).

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Goat Cheese

What you need:
-1 chicken breast
-sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
-goat cheese or other creamy cheese
-olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
1. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Pound chicken flat. Pan-fry in a small amount of olive oil until juices run clear (~5 minutes per side).
3. Finely chop 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes. Muddle and crush with 2 tablespoons goat cheese in a small bowl. If dry, add a bit of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle goat cheese mixture over chicken on a plate. Serve with pasta, veggies, whatever.

french onion soup

So... I should have gone grocery shopping yesterday but didn't, and then I found myself today with a bare fridge and pantry. Rather than starve (sacre bleu!) I had to get creative with the back shelf of the fridge. This actually turned out really well, but maybe next time I'd plan ahead and stock up on gourmet ingredients.

Easy French Onion Soup (serves 2 as a starter course, or 1 really hungry person)

What you need:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion (red or Vidalia should be fine), sliced into thin half-moons
1 can broth (I used chicken, but beef would probably taste richer)
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (traditionally sherry, but whatever, improvise!)
1-2 slices melty cheese (ideally I'd like Gruyere, but... uh... I only had string cheese)
1 thick slice crusty bread per serving

What you do:
1) Drizzle olive oil into a quart pot on low to medium heat.
2) Saute sliced onions, stirring continuously for 15-20 minutes until soft, brown, aromatic, and caramelized (avoid too high heat - we don't want a stir fry!) Add a pinch of salt to help sweat the onions, and/or a pinch of sugar to help the caramelization along if you get impatient. Since the whole thing is on low heat, you can walk away frequently to multi-task around home.
3) Add the broth, bring it to boiling, then simmer for at least 10 minutes. Adjust salt to taste (shouldn't need much, broth is salty) and add a splash of balsamic vinegar or sherry for flavor.

To serve:
1) Toast thick bread and lay each slice in the bottom of a soup bowl.
2) Lay 1 slice meltable cheese on top of each slice of bread.
3) Ladle simmering broth with onions into each bowl. The heat will melt the cheese into yummy goodness.
4) Crack some fresh black pepper, and maybe a small drizzle of good olive oil, over the top. Eat!

I guess traditionally you're supposed to put the bread/cheese on top of the soup and broil the entire soup bowl... but this is way easier.