OK, if you've never eaten Hawaiian Haystacks, I know they sound crazy. But, trust me, they are delicious. Plus I love to serve them because I just put the toppings out in bowls, and people can decide what they want, and EVERYONE ends up happy.
Hawaiian Haystacks (6 servings or so)
3-4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 cups of chicken broth
3 T. cornstarch
2 c. Japanese rice
Toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese
thawed frozen peas
chopped celery
chopped tomatoes
chopped green onions
drained pineapple tidbits
shredded coconut
salted peanuts or cashews
Cook chicken breasts in chicken broth in crockpot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from crockpot. Turn crockpot to high and keep lid on it. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water and then whisk into the broth. Put the lid back on the crockpot. Shred the chicken and return to the crockpot for half hour or so, or until the broth has thickened. (OK, you don't have to do this in the crockpot, you just need to end up with shredded chicken in chicken gravy.)
While the gravy is thickening, cook the rice with 2 2/3 cups water (or according to package directions). Bring it to a boil, cover it and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. (If you don't have Japanese rice, long-grain white rice, or even brown rice works just fine.)
Place a scoop of rice in a bowl, and top with a generous ladle of chicken and gravy. Top with your favorite toppings. Back in the day, before my son was diagnosed with celiac disease we would also top them with La Choy chow mein noodles. When I figure out how to make GF chow mein noodles, I'll let you know.... ;)
I buy rice noodles that are like chow mein noodles but you would need to decide whether they are gluten free. My daughter (26) was just diagnosed but I am not up on cooking for her yet as she lives overseas.
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