Doritos Rice Krispy Treats

My little girl has been quite the troublemaker lately. She's brought fussiness to a whole new level and I swear has turned nocturnal. This has going on for about 3 days now, and the last day or so she's started pulling on her ears. So I did what every other first time mom does: rushed her to the doctors. I mean she must have an earache right? There's got to be a reason for this madness.

The little demon...

So I walk into the dr's office (sad day, I had to enter in through the "sick kids" entrance instead of the "healthy kids" entrance. Oh the shame) and check in. A nurse leads me back to a room, meanwhile hitting me with flurry of questions:

Nurse: "So she has an earache?"
Me: "Uh, well, I think she might. I mean she's been pulling at her ears and shes been really fussy..."
Nurse: "So she has a fever then?"
Me: "Uh, no, I don't think so. Not that I've noticed"
Nurse: "Has she been congested?"
Me: "Congested? Well, I wouldn't necessarily say shes been congested... I think she had a dry nose this morning..?"
Nurse: "Has she been eating normally?"
Me: "Um, yes? Maybe?... Can you define normal?"
Nurse: "Has she had any fluid draining from her ears?"
Me: "Fluid? No, no fluid... She has ear wax?" (Nurse gives me a strange look. Nice one Summer)
Nurse: "How about her stools--has she been pooping/peeing normally?"
Me: "Yes." (finally one I can answer with assurance...my confidence has been waning by the second)
Nurse: "And no fever?"
Me: "(secretly I wish I could say yes by this point) No. No fever."

So by now I'm feeling pretty dumb. I'm looking for a back exit to escape through to avoid further humiliation. No luck, plus I already paid my $20 co-pay so I may as well get something from it. I sit back and instead enjoy the posters portraying every possible disease, skin rash, or disorder my child may one day get. (why do they always post these things up in dr's office? Scare tactics?) Ah, well like expected, my child has no earache. The doctor says its possibly a cold and recommends rest. Thanks, could you please tell that to my child?

So I drive home in the rain, slightly disgruntled. My little one resumes her crying and I decide there's only one thing to do for the "sick" babe: make some grilled cheese and soup. But wait, let's mix things up a bit... Can you say Nacho Doritos?

 So while this totally destroyed all health aspects of this meal, I think it was a winner. The crushed Doritos add the cheese flavor I was going for, without the soggyness of actual cheese. And the Parmesan added the extra oomph I was looking for. And no worries I opted to feed the babe pureed peas while I enjoyed her grilled cheese and soup. Ah... now pray that I can get through this fussy phase without going stir crazy!

Doritos Rice Krispy Treats

4 Tbsp butter

6 cups marshmallows
4 cups krispies

2 cups crushed Doritos (Nacho Cheese or Spicy Nacho)
1/3-1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (Confession: I used the powdered kind from the green can... if you have the fresh stuff totally use it, otherwise use what you have)

First crush the Doritos into crumbs in a ziploc bag. My weapon of choice was a rolling pin but feel free to get creative. Pour the rice krispies and Doritos in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted turn the heat down to the lowest setting and add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are all melted (this will take a few minutes--low and slow is key for perfect texture).

Once fully melted, take them off heat and pour over the rice krispies. Stir lightly to combine, while I was mixing this together I sprinkled in the Parmesan cheese so it got well incorporated. Don't get stingy with this stuff, have at it. Dump everything into a greased 9x9 pan. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then with greased hands go in and flatten the top. Sprinkle top with some more Parmesan, whoo hoo! Allow them to cool about 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!