Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Hawaiian Haystacks

Oh what a yummy meal this was! It has been SO long since I have had these, certainly since I was a child. Did you know these are a "mormon meal" just like green jello and funeral potatoes? I didn't. Either way, I wanted to make this without using the standard Cream of Chicken (processed crap) soup and broth as the gravy. Really, what kid of gravy is that anyway?? So, here's what I did and let me tell you....AWESOME!!! Ok, now I'm bragging, but seriously it was that good.

Prepare your rice for the meal. I made about 6 cups cooked rice.

Gravy/Sauce Ingredients:
3 TBSP butter
1 onion chopped
1 TBSP minced garlic
3/4 cup multi colored bell peppers diced
fresh chicken cut into small chunks (I used 2 breasts)
1/3 cup flour
1 can chicken broth
1 can fat free evaporated milk (I want to try coconut milk next!!)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
sliced mushrooms

Saute the onion, garlic, peppers, and chicken in the butter. Add a little salt and pepper for the sauteing and cook until the chicken is white and cooked through. Then sprinkle the flour over the sauted chicken and veggies and stir for about a minute. This helps to decrease that flour-y taste in your sauses. After its good and cooked for a bit, slowly wisk in your broth and your milk. Add your mushrooms and your seasoning while stirring. Bring back to a boil and continue to stir until your sauce is thickend to desired consistency. Remove from heat. Wha-La! Now you have a yummy gravy to go over your rice.

So in order you would stack on your plate or in a bowl - Rice, then gravy, Chow Mein Noodles and any or all of the toppings (below) you and your family want after that.

Toppings:
Chow Mein Noodles
Pineapple chunks
Mandarin Oranges
Tomatoes
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Olives
Green Onions
Fresh Cilantro

This made enough to feed my family of 5 with leftovers for at least 3 of us.