Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 12 oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• Rolos (if you so choose)
• Confectioners sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan combine brown sugar, butter and water. Heat on med until butter has melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and let stand at least 5 minutes. Beat eggs into the chocolate mixture. Gradually add in dry ingredients. Let the the dough stand for 10 minutes or until cool. Roll into 48 one-inch balls. Place 1 ball in each indentation of a mini-muffin pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately press an un-wrapped Rolos candy, top side down, into each cookie. When cooled, sprinkle with Confectioners sugar and carefully remove each cookie from the pan. Enjoy!

Variation: use mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups rather than Rolos

Layered Doritos Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (10 oz.) bag Doritos, Nacho Cheese flavor
• 2 T. dried chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 can beans of your choice (black, kidney, or pinto), drained
• 1 package low sodium taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or Tex-Mex blend)

Optional toppings

• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Olives
• Sour Cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place salsa in a strainer to drain while preparing beef.
2. Cook ground beef with onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat, if necessary. Add drained beans, taco seasoning, and water. Stir until thickened and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine drained salsa, sour cream, soup, and 1 cup of cheese. Add in beef and stir well.
4. Slightly crush Doritos (not completely, you don't want crumbs). Layer Doritos in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish . Top with ½ of the beef mixture. Repeat layers. Finally top with an additional layer of Doritos and remaining cheese.
5. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover casserole. Bake 30 minutes covered, remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and olives if desired.

Note: I used Valerie's Refried Beans Without the Refry (but not smashed) instead of canned beans. I also tripled the recipe and placed it in a huge foil pan from Sam's Club (one of those chafing dish pans). It will be perfect for our neighborhood party tonight!