Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Carnival of the Recipes: A Bizarre thought.

Well. Way back in Carnival 84, I was reading Third World Country's Flat Chicken Enchiladas and it hit me... "Handheld Hawaiian Haystacks."
Well, I tried to do some research into Hawaiian haystacks to give the history, etc... but apparantly, they're a distinctively LDS (aka "Mormon") meal, so... yeah. I'll explain as best I can- Hawaiian Haystacks are a quick, cheap, easy, and surprisingly tasty one-plate dinner. Good for moms on the go that want to have a sit-down meal with the family that's actually good for them.
So I started playing in the kitchen, and here's what I came up with:

Handheld Hawaiian Haystacks
(Here is a normal Hawaiian haystacks recipe for comparison [scroll down.])
This recipe is based on a single serving; but it scales nicely, so have at it.

1 Giant tortilla (Note #1)
1 Cup cooked rice
1/2 Cup cooked chicken
1/2 Cup Cream of Chicken soup (Or, if you want a thinner "sauce," use 2/3C soup and
1/3C evaporated milk)

Your choice of "Fillers" (Here's some of the classics:)
Thinly diced cellery
Pineapple tidbits (drained)
Shredded coconut
Chinese chow mein noodles
Shredded mild cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced green onions
Chopped tomatoes
Slivered almonds


1. Lay out the tortilla and spread the rice into an oval shape, so that you have at least 2 in. of uncovered tortilla on either end along the long axis of the rice, and plenty of room for rolling along the sides.
2. Mix the chicken and soup, then spread fairly evenly over the rice.
3. Add your "fillers" of choice. (Personally, I go with Pineapple chunks, tomatoes, and cheese. But I'm a fairly boring guy. Feel free to try this bugger out with your own more exotic additions. Maybe pepperjack cheese, hot sauce? Some Chile? Have at it, experiment away!)
4. Roll that puppy up and go. Filling, somewhat on the nutritious side, and depending on what you put in there, rather tasty... and of course, really really quick.

Notes:
#1. If you're not fortunate enough to live in the Southwest or near a large hispanic community, I guess you can make do with the generic stuff... but you really should be buying the gigantic, 12-inch-diameter-minimum, fresh-baked tortillas. (Hrm... sounds like another recipe I have to post...)

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