By Kevin Williams
Ah, if you are like me and you like "plate piler" meals, you'd feel right at home among the Amish. Haystacks are quite popular among the Amish because large gatherings are common and this kind of meal is a great way to feed a crowd. The proportions can be increased or downsized according to how many people you are expecting. Haystacks for a long time were a common supper dish, but as 
time has gone by "breakfast variations" have evolved and even dessert versions. Yum.
Here is what Amish Cook columnist Gloria Yoder says about them:
"It’s the type of thing I prefer for guests rather than having so many different items. Also add or omit anything to suit your taste buds. For example you may want to add cheese to your scrambled eggs rather than having a separate cheese sauce. The peppers and onions may be fried with the eggs if desired. Ingredient amounts are not given so that you can adjust according to how many you are trying to feed."
So, here is our "Haystack Hall of Fame"
- 1¾ cups soda crackers, crushed
- 3 pounds hamburger, browned, and 3 tablespoons taco seasoning added
- 4 cups lettuce, shredded
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups green peppers, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Spaghetti, rice, or both — cooked until soft — enough to suit.
- Put some of each on your plate, one layer at a time. Top with shredded cheese or a homemade cheese sauce. Also, salsa or ranch dressing is a good addition.
- This will serve a family of six, but amounts can be adjusted to suit your taste and other vegetables can be added.
This recipe is an awful lot like a traditional Haystack, I guess the main difference between a Haystack Supper and a Haystack Salad is it's a little "lighter", no heavy hamburger or rice in it. Plus, well, I guess the addition of mayo makes it a more "salady" dish, so, yeah, there are differences, Enjoy!
Haystack Salad
Ingredients
- Torn lettuce
- Shredded cabbage
- Chopped celery
- Chopped green pepper
- Minced onion
- Grated carrot
- Mayonnaise
- Pickle juice and sugar to taste
- Grated colby cheese
Instructions
- Layer lettuce, cabbage, celery, green pepper, onion and carrot.
- Spread top with mayonnaise mixed with pickle juice and sugar to taste
- Then sprinkle with cheese
This is a breakfast haystack I saw once in an Amish home, not quite the same as the recipe here, because you have jalapenos in the mix, but this is typical of what a breakfast haystack looks like.
The haystack can also be enjoyed as breakfast! In fact, it might be my all time favorite.
- Biscuits, baked
- Sausage gravy
- Eggs, scrambled
- Ham, cubed
- Hash browns
- Green peppers, diced
- Onions, chopped
- Tomatoes, diced
- Cheese sauce
- Bacon, crumbled
- Tortilla chips, crushed
- Biscuits, baked
- Sausage gravy
- Eggs, scrambled
- Ham, cubed
- Hash browns
- Green peppers, diced
- Onions, chopped
- Tomatoes, diced
- Cheese sauce
- Bacon, crumbled
- Tortilla chips, crushed
- Prepare enough ingredients for the people you are serving.
- Serve in order list and stack on your plate in the order listed above.
AMISH DESSERT HAYSTACK
Adjust the amounts below according to how many you are feeding, put all the ingredients out buffet style and put the ice cream in first and then layer the rest on top. Enjoy!
Vanilla ice cream
2 cups of crushed chocolate chip cookies (store bought or homemade)
2 cups of crushed Nutter Butters or homemade peanut butter cookies
2 cups of peanut butter
2 cups crushed graham crackers
honey
maple syrup
mini-marshmallows
And here is a 5th Amish Haystack recipe, this was printed in Good Housekeeping 10 years ago, must have been sponsored by Newman's Own, since they recommended using "Sockarooni Sauce" in it, not something most Amish would have on hand, but here is the recipe.
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