Tropical Chicken Sundaes

This old time recipe is often referred to as Hawaiian haystacks or Chinese sundaes. Typically a myriad of toppings adorn a heap of white rice nestled on a bed of crunchy chow mein noodles. The result looks impressively close to that of an ice cream sundae particularly when topped with a cherry. I was not thrilled with the sauce, a mixture of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk; however it reminded me of a chicken and rice dish my mother-n-law has made on occasion that is really tasty which I decided to post yesterday. Cooking the chicken this way lends the much needed flavor that was missing to the sauce. If calories are a concern try using a rue or white sauce, 2 tablespoons butter and flour plus 1 cup milk, in the place of the soup and sour cream just like the Saucy Chicken version. We rarely ever eat white rice so in the place of rice we use shredded cabbage, Chinese noodles or Bulgar wheat with a little soy sauce. The toppings are endless as well.

4 chicken breasts
1 cup broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 sour cream
1 cup milk
1 cup uncooked short to medium grain rice
1 bag ready to eat chow mein noodles
Celery, diced
Slivered or chopped almonds
Chopped green onions
Peas
Canned pineapple chunks, drained
Canned mandarin oranges, drained or fresh orange segments
Coconut
Maraschino cherries, drained

Simmer the chicken, broth, garlic and onion until chicken is tender; about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions.

In a small sauce pan heat the milk, soup and sour cream. Shred the chicken. Add the shredded chicken and a little broth to the sauce.

Place the toppings in individual serving bowls. Allow each person to create their own sundae starting with the chow mein noodles then rice and desired toppings.