Chili Stackers aka Haystacks

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Chili Stackers AKA Haystacks is a quick and simple stacked salad with chili, corn chips, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, olives, rice, sour cream and salsa.

One of the best meals to feed a large crowd, Chili Stackers aka Haystacks are so quick, easy, and versatile. The toppings are only limited to your imagination with so many options. This meal is more like a buffet of various toppings than an actual recipe. This meal is reminiscent of taco salad, loaded chili, or nachos, depending on how you layer the ingredients.

Haystacks are basically a stacked salad including meat, starch, vegetables and condiments. This meal has many aliases, including Mexican Haystacks, Texas Haystacks, and Camping Haystacks. The great feature about this tasty meal is that each person customizes their plate with the toppings they love. Some of my children really love chili, so they go heavy on it, while others prefer more rice and less chili. Some people also enjoy spicing up their chili stacker by adding jalapenos to it.

I learned about Chili Stackers/Haystacks from friends in Arizona. They served this delicious meal to my large family when we visited them. Since then, I have served this tasty meal to many, many friends. It is a super meal to serve a crowd and everyone loves their custom designed plate of food!

Ingredients for Chili Stackers aka Haystacks

• Chili recipe, this Classic Homemade Chili Recipe is our favorite.
• Corn chips, which is our favorite for this meal, but crushed tortilla chips will work as well.
• Cheddar Cheese, shredded, or whatever type of cheese you prefer on chili.
• Lettuce, I usually use Romaine lettuce.
• Tomato, raw Roma or Beefsteak tomatoes are great.
• Olives, sliced and drained.
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Green onions, chopped
• Bell pepper, chopped
• Brown rice, white rice will work as well.

Other Ingredients that would be good on Chili Stackers aka Haystacks

• Beans
• Guacamole
• Ranch dressing
• Ketchup
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Pickles?
• Jalapenos

How to make Chili Stackers/Haystacks

Just place ingredients on your large plate. It's best to start with small amounts of everything as this meal has a way of growing. Usually we start with the chips or rice, then chili, then everything else, ending with the sour cream, salsa, or salad dressing.

Sample amounts per serving, this is what the nutrition label is based on for this recipe

1/2 cup rice cooked
small bowl chili (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup corn chips
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp Salsa
1/2 cup lettuce
1/4 cup tomato diced
1 Tbsp black olives
1 Tbsp green onions
1/4 cup bell pepper