Fight the grisly weather with Hawaiian Haystack
If O’hana means family, then Hawaiian haystacks must mean yummo.
I’ll be honest with you: the first time I saw said haystacks, I thought to myself, “Ew.”
But I was pleasantly surprised when I took that first bite and realized if you cover it in creamy soup, it is delicious.
For those of you non-Utahns, Hawaiian haystacks are basically a pile of food that may hint at the tropics, the operative word being “may.”
The core ingredients are simple: rice, chicken, cream of chicken soup, cheese and those delicious crunchy Chinese noodles. Beyond that, you can add whatever you like.
And a big shout out to my own O’hana: Seth Jenks, Natalie Archibald and David Forbis, for inspiring me to bring a little bit of the tropics to cold Logan, Utah.
Ingredients:
Minute Rice (I like this for the ease and the fact that it cooks up in five minutes)
Chicken, cooked and cubed
Cream of chicken soup, prepared as on the label
Grated cheese
Pineapple chunks, drained
Mandarin oranges, drained
Chinese noodles
Other options:
Bell pepper
Green onions
Olives
Tomatoes
Pickles
Coconut
Mushrooms
Celery
Directions:
Start your plate off with the rice – don’t pile it too high.
It may look like you’re not going to have much of a meal, but once you add the other ingredients your plate will fill up fast.
Pour a little cream of chicken soup over it, layer the cubed chicken over that and pour a little more soup on.
I like to add the cheese first because it starts to melt, then the pineapple and mandarin oranges.
Finish off with the crunchy noodles and you have yourself one delicious meal that will make you say, “Aloha!”
Mary Carman in a senior in the American studies program and needs your recipes! To share your tasty
treats, e-mail her at
mkimbercarma@cc.usu.edu.