Emergency Dinner: Goat Cheese & Pancetta Pizza

When I have my tv show someday, I swear it will be called "The Lazy Cook", because man, I am laaaaaaa-zy when it comes to cooking on the weekends. It's an occupational hazard I suppose.

I had a lovely stewed chicken and dumpling dish all planned out, bird thawing in the fridge (bought too many for a knife skills class a few months back, so I popped those suckers into the freezer, where they seem to glare at me daily), veggies culled from the fridge at The Kitchen Studio this a.m., experimental dumpling recipe sketched out, salad greens actually in the house, and my 5 minute bread ready to shape and bake.

Can you tell that none of that happened??

Before I knew it, I was swept away in cleaning the laundry room, sewing on Boy Scout badges, and giving my daughter a quick sewing lesson. Then it was 6:45.

Did I mention that my son chose this moment to drop on us that he just HAD TO HAVE a spiral notebook for science class tomorrow? Because yeah, there was no other opportunity this weekend to get one *sarcasm dripping*.

If you take a look back at my New Year's culinary resolutions , you will see that not only am I STILL kicking the butt of this list, but that one of my goals is to stop ordering out so much.

I'm thinking of this, all the while the temptation of the easy way out and sushi-deliciousness dangling before me. And I don't cave in. *insert rock star dance here* 'Cause brother, I am such a cave-woman sometimes;).

So I dug through my ridiculously under-supplied fridge and rustled up the following ingredients:

• A refrigerated pizza crust (don't judge me - I don't know where it came from)
• goat cheese
• diced pancetta from Trader Joes
• half a really big onion

How easy is this:

Preheat your oven to 400-degrees. While the oven is preheating, throw a little bit of butter in a saute pan, slice the onion, and slowly cook it until it starts to get soft. Add diced pancetta to the pan and stir well to render out the fat and make the pancetta a little bit crispy and the onions a little bit soft (Sounds like Donny and Marie, non?). Add a good sprinkle of salt and half a teaspoon or so of dried thyme (don't forget to crush it in the palm of your hand first to really amp up the volume) and stir to combine. Cover it with a lid and let it cook on low for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, back at the bat-cave, spread out the pizza crust on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Pull that puppy out and spread the goat cheese evenly all over the crust. Take the onion/pancetta mixture and sprinkle it over the goat cheese. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until it looks awesome and brownish.

I'd show you a picture, but my family ate it all. Standing up. In the kitchen.

Sorry about that.

But not really.

So try this at home - it's actually a pretty classic combo. If you can, make your own pizza crust, because that will make it even better. Unless of course, it's Sunday night.