Are you looking for a fresh delicious meal in 10 minutes?  This one can is quick, tasty and nutritious.  A meal that the whole family will love.  Isn’t this picture cute?  This is from my new BYU Cougars Cookbook!

Hawaiian Haystacks

Yield:  Serves 8

2 (10-oz) cans cream of chicken soup

4 cups cooked and cubed chicken

1 (10 ounce) can water or chicken broth

1 bay leaf

5 cups cooked rice, warm

Combine the soup and water or broth in a saucepan; stir to blend.  Add the chicken and bay leaf.  Simmer about 8-10 minutes or until sauce is heated through.  Remove bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the toppings below and place in individual bowls or around a large serving platter.  Serve this dish buffet style and have individuals layer their own plates starting with the rice, chow mien noodles, chicken gravy and other desired toppings.

Toppings

Fried chow mein noodles

Pineapple tidbits

Sliced green onions

Chopped bell peppers

Chopped celery

Grated cheddar cheese

Trosted sliced almonds

Diced tomatoes

Shredded Coconut

Some shortcuts I do to make this meal even faster are I use cooked, frozen rice from my freezer (heat in the microwave in a steamer for 4 mintues on high.)  I also use canned chicken.  (What?  Ewww?)  I thought it would be gross and so I haven’t used it until recently.  Canned chicken is actually great if it is seasoned and shredded with a fork.  A few months ago I was short on time when getting ready to teach how to assemble Chicken Pot Pies on Good Things Utah (see how to videos, Chicken Pot Pie) so I bought a can of chicken.  It ended up being more tender in the pot pie then if I were to cook it myself.  I loved it!  It is the same price as buying fresh meat but it cuts out the mess of working with raw chicken, the germs and the extra time it takes to cube and cook chicken.  Canned chicken makes putting diner together fast.  I recommend using canned chicken or replacing the chicken with white navy beans for a vegetarian dish.    Also, we did not have fried chow mein noodles in my pantry, so we added salty peanuts as a topping and it gave it just the crunch that was needed.