GOODe GOODeNESS: Haystacks- Not Your Mama's Taco Salad

Tonight's recipe, Haystacks, is at the request of Jaelithe of the Librarian @ Home. Jae and I go way back (think prior to grade school folks ;)) and when we reconnected in the great big ole Blogosphere, Jae sent me a note and asked that I hunt down an old get-together family favorite that our families would share: Haystacks.

Truth be told this meal is great for get-togethers because everyone can bring one component to make a do-it-yourself version of taco salad with a lot of different flavors than you would expect.

You start with about 2 cups of rice. I cooked mine up in my new Pampered Chef Micro-Cooker. 

Dude! Where have I been??? I am in love with this thing.

Once my rice was done, I sat it aside and cooked my ground beef up in it!

I put the raw hamburger in...

 Added 1 chopped Onion, 1 chopped garlic clove, salt and pepper...

Mixed it all up with my Mix 'n Chop ( and we all know how I feel about it...) and popped it into the microwave for 2 minutes, mixed, then 3 minutes, mixed and cooked for 2 more minutes.

I then drained it through it's drain-able lid 

And added in 2/3 cup water and some Old El Paso Taco Seasoning

I then mixed it up and popped it back in for another minute.

And sat it aside.

I then heated 1 T of Olive Oil in a skillet and cooked down some mushrooms with a little salt.

Cover and let them cook down.

Drain and set aside

Heat up some cheese sauce and... you guessed it, set aside.

The slice up some grape tomatoes, grab some olives and place in a serving dish with the mushrooms.

Now take some Club Crackers...

And crush them up...

Whew... I'm tired, how about you???

Ok, we are on the home stretch, I promise.

Grab your plate and put some lettuce on it.

Now the rice

And the taco beef

Mushrooms 

Tomatoes

Club Crackers

Cheese Sauce

And finish off with your favorite salad dressing....

Tradition calls for French Dressing 'round these parts...

So there you have it, Haystacks-Not Your Mama's Taco Salad.

If your family would like to give this recipe a try or take a more traditional approach to family taco night, click here to go to learn about my Old El Paso Family Taco Night Prize Pack Giveaway.

Linked to: 

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tuesdays at the Table

It's a Blog Party

Disclosure: The plates and taco seasoning packet pictured above were provided by Old El Paso click here for more information.