Comfort food on a chilly day

I am so ready for spring!   We have had a few little teasers but after a lot of rain yesterday, today is cloudy and chilly. (I would even say cold!)  So thought it was a perfect day to do some cooking.  I got onions through the food co-op a couple weeks ago and they are huge!  Have not even put a dent in them so thought I would make some Onion Soup. 

When I first moved out on my own, I would sometimes treat myself by going to the Famous & Barr at the mall where they had a little restaurant that served the best French Onion Soup.  It would be served with toasted French bread on top and bubbly cheese dripping over the edges of the bowl. 



 I did not have any French bread but did have some hanburger buns that we needed to eat.  So I toasted them under the broiler and topped them with a slice of provolone cheese.   It wasn't the Famous Onion Soup but it was pretty darn good and definitely took off the chill.

I was also wanting to do something in the oven and had apples left from the produce basket.  We will get another basket tomorrow with more apples so at first throught I would make an apple crisp - but the idea of slicing and mixing and all the mess did not interest me.  So I thought of Baked Apples - got out the Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe. 
Instead of coring the apple and leaving it intact, I cut them in half and then used a melon baller to scoop out the center.  Trimmed up the ends a little with a knife.

The hot oven and the warm dessert made for a much pleasanter afternoon.   I like them with the cranberries - sort of tart and sweet at the same time. 

And since I got some non-dairy topping out of the freezer when I was thinking about making the apple crisp - and forgot to put it back in the freezer - we had our baked apples with topping.  It was really good, just not something I would have done normally.  I think I will have another one as my snack later - after I do my workout.

And speaking of working out - Wellness Wins is almost over.  Two weeks from tomorrow is our final weigh-in.  According to the scales this morning I am down. 19 lbs, well over the 16 to complete the Wellness Wins challenge.  And that gives me a BMI below 25 - so I have done well.  Now just have to keep it.  I won't be doing aerobics 6 or 7 days a week but need to force myself to exercise 3 times a week and watch those vices (bacon, potato chips, fried anything).