Mexican Haystacks

Happy Monday!

I’m back from a relaxing, sunny, fun-filled, donut-filled, week at the beach. It’s back to reality now and time to get serious about some school shopping with my boys.

I have to be careful though to not mention the word school around Parker because he gets a little upset and by that I mean he cries, literally. While we were at the beach, I made the mistake of mentioning the fact that he gets to start school a day earlier than his brothers because he is going into middle school.  They do an orientation for the incoming 6th graders to get them acclimated with middle school life. That did not go over well, I think he cried for 20 minutes—no joke!  He really should have been a girl!

Now I get to play catch up after being gone a week. . . laundry, weeding, cleaning, etc., all that fun stuff.

I made these Mexican Haystacks before we left and they were a huge hit with my boys. I love that they can make them to suit their individual tastes (albeit some of their tastes are soooo boring if you ask me!).  My three youngest pretty much chose cheese, Fritos and salsa for theirs (boring!), while us smart ones also piled tomatoes, olives, lettuce, cilantro, and guacamole on top of ours.

I love simple dinners like this, don’t you? I’d love to hear from you if you give these a try.

Now I need to get to work and dive into my piles of laundry and sandy beach towels.  Although I hate to wash our beach towels because they still smell like the beach.  When I walk into my laundry room it smells like the beach, and that is not a bad thing, so maybe I’ll  hold off on washing the beach towels Ü.

Mexican Haystacks

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Description

These Mexican Haystacks are a fun twist on the classic Hawaiian Haystacks. Topping options are endless! These will please even your picky eaters.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 recipe Cilantro Rice ((recipe below) or cooked rice (about 3 cups))
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning
• ¾ cup water
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

TOPPINGS:

• avocado or guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, tomatoes, shredded lettuce

CILANTRO RICE:

• 3 cups water
• 4 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• ½ bunch cilantro
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 cups minute rice

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Instructions

1. RICE: In a medium size pan, bring water and bouillon to a boil. In a food processor, blend garlic, cilantro, and chilies together. To boiling water, add cilantro mixture, salt, butter and rice. Stir well and reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
2. In a large skillet, brown beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add taco seasoning, water and salsa. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens.
3. To serve, place about 1/2 cup of rice on a plate and top with meat, black beans and finish off with toppings of your choice .

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Notes

Feel free to use plain white or brown rice with these haystacks. We happen to love the cilantro rice and thought it would give these Mexican Haystacks even more flavor. You won’t use the entire batch of cilantro rice, but save it for leftovers for a side dish later in the week.

Recipe Source: 5 Boys Baker