Meatless Mexican Haystacks

I will probably tell you more than once that I love Mexican food.  I combined two recipes (and added some pantry-friendly twists) to create Meatless Mexican Haystacks, and I have to say they turned out great!

It's funny how during COVID-19 we did *not* have a food shortage, but buying certain foods and getting all the ingredients we needed was sometimes quite hard.  This recipe was inspired by that.  My goal with this blog is to share recipes with ingredients you can just have on hand and don't have to buy fresh at the store.  This one is perfect.  Plus, it's packed with protein.

MEATLESS MEXICAN HAYSTACKS

PREP TIME:  20-25 minutes
COOK TIME:  included

INGREDIENTS

• 3 c. water + water for quinoa
• 3 c. chunky salsa 
• 4 c. uncooked instant rice
• 1  1/2 c. freeze-dried shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I really like this brand--it's even good dried right out of the can)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 c. quinoa, dry
• 1/4 c. dried minced onion
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1-2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)
• 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 c. freeze-dried sour cream, rehydrated (I use this brand)

DIRECTIONS

Rehydrate cheese (suggested rehydration time is 2 hours) and sour cream.  In a medium saucepan, cook quinoa according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 3 c. water and salsa to a boil.  Stir in rice.  Immediately remove from heat; cover and let stand at least 5 minutes. When quinoa is cooked, stir in the onion, garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, and cilantro, then stir in pinto beans and black beans.  To make the haystacks, layer rice, then cheese, then bean-quinoa mixture, then tomatoes, then sour cream.

Try this recipe, then comment and let me know how you like it!  And Pin it to Pinterest to save and share using the image below.

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