Warning, this post made me hungry and might do the same to you.

I made a crock-pot recipe this week that sounded interesting and tasted great. It was called Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce, and I got it from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. As Alison told me, it "tasted professional". It was really easy to make, too... I browned a pork loin roast on all sides, put it in the crock pot, covered it with chopped onions, and poured two cans of A&W root beer over it. It then cooked for 10 hours on low. The BBQ sauce that went with it was chili sauce and two more cans of A&W, boiled down to 2 cups of liquid. After that, I stirred in some Tobasco sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of root beer extract. Yummy! I've had leftovers twice at work so far, and I have enough for one more sandwich left (which I'll probably eat tonight.)

Two nights ago I made an 8-layer dip with 7 layers. One of the layers called for frozen guacamole, and we left it out. The 7 layers (in order) were: Lettuce, bean dip mixed with taco sauce, sour cream, cheese, chopped olives, and tomatoes. We ate it last night after it had chilled for 24 hours (although we didn't put the tomato on until the last minute.) It was very tasty, and was actually all we had for dinner.

Tomorrow night we'll probably make cheese-stuffed chicken. It has multiple cheeses in it (like Ricotta and Monterey Jack), and my mouth is already watering. :-)

Last night was Alison and my 7th monthiversary. She didn't get off work until late, so I cooked dinner. I used the recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it turned out great! I also used their recipe for basic white sauce, then added parmesan and romano cheese to make it a creamy cheese sauce. I boiled two ears of corn, but was surprised by how little corn actually came from it (just enough for one person.)

I had all of it cooking at once, so I kind of burned some rolls. :-P I threw them away and got some more, of course. The whole meal was excellent, and I sent a smaller leftover chicken cordon bleu and some sauce with Alison to lunch today.

Alison and I made our first dish using the new cookbook on Friday. It was Prosciutto, Spinach, and Onion Casserole, and it was quite good. I've never made something quite so fancy before (but I had help from Alison, of course.) After the dish came out of the oven, we topped it with fresh tomato. Mmmmm! It made around 6 servings, and we've both had it as leftovers once. I brought half of the remaining casserole to lunch today, so there is only enough for one person left.

What we need to do is either make smaller recipes or make stuff on three consecutive days so we can alternate the leftovers. :-P

I went grocery shopping for stuff at work (bottled water, etc.) and picked up a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The cover is pink instead of the usual red plaid (for breast cancer awareness.) Alison and I are going to try cooking something from it tonight.

Earlier this week I got a small toaster oven. I've used it about four times since then, and have made toasted sandwiches and cinnamon toast. I just thought of a new application today (not really a new application, but something I hadn't thought of yet...) I can cook bread at one temperature while the main dish is in the oven at another. It isn't a split-oven, but it will do the trick. ;-)

Alison and I cooked a dish last night that was really good, although I don't know if it has a name or not. We didn't cook it from a recipe, but it was ground chuck, diced tomatoes, garlic, and taco powder. After that was cooked and mixed, we placed it on little squares of pizza dough, then folded it up like a little square envelope. The result was cooked in the oven for 8 minutes at 425 (I think), and it was really good. We dipped it in pizza sauce with some generic Italian seasoning in it. I've got the last two here with me at work to eat for lunch. :-)

The dairy thing is coming along nicely. I'm up to drinking 12oz (1.5 cups) of milk two times a day, and I've had some incidental dairy the past couple of days (like a slice of cheese on a chicken sandwich or a creamy sauce.) No symptoms, although I'm going to do one more day of 12oz. of milk before I try to eat some ice cream. I've already got it waiting for me in the freezer (I bought it Wedneday night.) I have a pint of Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough and a pint of Blue Bell homemade vanilla. Mmmmmm...