Both my sister and I were lucky enough to have the most wonderful kindergarten teacher. Her family became friends with ours and we sometimes went to their house to eat delicious things. Once we went over and had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner — the irony being that this family from Colorado taught my born-and-raised-in-Hawaii family how to make it. It was a chilly (60-something degree) night and they were the only family I knew of that had a fireplace that worked. They turned it on and served this dish, and that night is still the epitomy of coziness in my mind. With winter here, there’s nothing I want more than comfort food that’s easy, quick, and warm, like this.
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 rotisserie chicken
Toppings (pick and choose as you please):
Shredded cheese
Green onion
Crunchy noodles
Shredded coconut
Pineapple
Diced tomatoes
Instructions:
- Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Set aside.
- Combine the cream of chicken soup and the chicken broth. Shred your chicken and add in as much as you like (at least two cups). Stir frequently for about 10 minutes.
- Serve rice and top with the soup mixture (which I call “gravy). Let everyone choose their own toppings!
The flavors all mix together into a creamy, savory, warm meal with a hint of sweetness. Kids love this dish because they can top their haystack with whatever they want! It’s a crowd pleaser, and since it takes just about 20 minutes from start to finish it’s a good one when you’ve got company.
Now I want to know: what are your comfort foods?
You can find more easy recipes right here.
J!! I have to say, all your food photos have improved and they are AMAZING!! Was it that food photog class u took a while back? Or are you just an awesome photog, period?! hehe I think it’s the latter =P I love this recipe. It’s simple, sweet comfort food. A lot of the filipino dishes we have seem to follow a haystack sort of structure, so this is up my alley =) I’ll def think about this when I cook dinner tonite =) xo
Wow, thanks L! I loooooove Filipino food — you’ve got my mouth watering. What I wouldn’t do for some lumpia right about now.
I agree with Louise about your food photo – GORGEOUS!!!!! class? book? secret? haha
I’m very intrigued by this recipe. one) i’ve been fighting a flu and finally want to eat solid food again and two) it has the word hawaiian in it! (where mohawk & i honeymooned) and three) this sounds like ultimate comfort food!
i’ll let ya know how it goes! question – in the instruction part you mentioned cream of mushroom soup, but under ingredients you mention cream of chicken. do you have a preference? i guess i could try both and see which i prefer! mmmm pineapple!!!!! it will for sure be making an appearance atop my haystack.
Thanks, Becky! It’s been really exciting to learn how to use my camera over the past year. Since people have been asking, I’ll be including some tips in my newsletter, which you can sign up for in the sidebar. And yes, do definitely let me know what you think of the haystacks recipe! I corrected it to cream of chicken, although I’m sure you could use cream of mushroom if you’d prefer.
20 minutes! I finally know what’s for dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe! It looks much more varied and fun than my usual go-to comfort food – a big blop of mashed potatoes.
DELICIOUS blops of mashed potatoes, though.
Thanks for the report that it was a hit.
YUP! Just added this one to my recipe file! I’ll let you know what Adelaide thinks of it
Yay! Awww, I miss you guys.
I’ve never heard of this recipe before. I need to mention it to my sister-in-law. She’s the Hawaiian native in our family. Well, you certainly can’t go wrong with any dish that calls for cream of chicken. The same SIL gave me a recipe for pork chops that calls for cream of chicken in the recipe, served over rice. It’s a crowd pleaser.
T, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s never heard of it. I had lunch with a veryyyy Hawaii-native friend today and he had never heard of it. This is a guy who eats spam musubi every Sunday!
Oh my, this looks delightful! I love to eat soup over a bowl of rice. Growing up I used to always eat cream of mushroom soup over rice and I’ve actually been craving it recently. This sounds and looks so much better!
Oh, I bet they’re really similar. When I lived in England I used to eat vegetable soup over rice all the time. I still crave it!
I LOVE Hawaiian haystacks! And yours looks so good! Can’t wait to make it
Another fan of the haystacks! So cool.
I have to agree with everyone here… the photos look great!! The food? Even better! Yum!!
Thanks, Mina! It DOES taste better than it looks. We’re hooked.
Joy – this dish looks so yummy and so simple to make! Shamefully, my comfort food has always been pasta and cheese – how boring!! Feel inspired reading your foodie posts though
Melissa x
making this tonight!