Layered Picnic Salads in a Jar

Serves	4
Prep time	20 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party, Easter, Halloween
Region	Mexican
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Amazingly easy to make and such a fabulous idea for picnics, barbecues, travel snacks and lunch boxes. These layered salads keep fresh in the fridge overnight and there is no need for any extra salad dressing as they are "dressed" with spicy salsa and a sour cream topping. Serve with tortillla chips and for picnics and lunch box snacks, make sure there are lids that fit the jars. The original inspiration for these salads came from a a friend who posted a recipe called Mexican Seven Layered Salad on RecipeZaar.

Ingredients

4 large jam jars (I used Parfait preserving jars with lids; you can also use small Kilner jars with attached lids)
chopped iceberg lettuce (or another crispy lettuce)
2 large tomatoes (finely chopped)
1 large red onion (peeled and finely chopped)
pimento stuffed green olives (cut into rings, about 6 olives per jar)
400g tin of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
315g jar Mexican salsa (hot, medium or mild)
4 to 6 tablespoons sour cream (mixed with Cajun seasoning spices, amount of sour cream depends on size of jars)
75g to 100g grated cheese (such as Cheddar or Emmental)
tortilla chips (to serve)

Note

Directions

Step 1	Add the ingredients to the jars in the order they are listed, leaving the tortilla chips off until you are ready to serve the salads.
Step 2	Place a lid on the salads and store in fridge overnight if necessary.
Step 3	Serve with tortilla chips for dipping etc!