Homemade Hawaiian Haystacks

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons of dry Ranch Dressing seasoning packet
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
Steamed rice, enough for your family
Toppings
Chow Mein Crispy Noodles
sliced green onions
black olives
pineapple
cranberries
almonds
tomatoes
shredded cheese
1. Place butter into a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth and thick, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Increase heat to high whisking until thick, about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and cooked chicken breast. Stir and season accordingly. You may prefer additional, salt, pepper and garlic salt. I transferred this to my crock pot and kept it on low all day until dinner. You can either serve it immediately or crock pot it until you are ready.
2. Place rice on serving plates and top with chicken gravy. Have toppings at the table and top with whatever you like! Have fun!
Makes 4 servings

Hawaiian Haystacks

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons of dry Ranch Dressing seasoning packet
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
Steamed rice, I like to have enough for leftovers
Toppings
Chow Mein Crispy Noodles
sliced green onions
black olives
pineapple
cranberries
almonds
tomatoes
shredded cheese
1. Place butter into a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth and thick, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Increase heat to high whisking until thick, about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and cooked chicken breast. Stir and season accordingly. You may prefer additional, salt, pepper and garlic salt. I transferred this to my crock pot and kept it on low all day until dinner. You can either serve it immediately or crock pot it until you are ready.
2. Place rice on serving plates and top with chicken gravy. Have toppings at the table and top with whatever you like!
Serves 4

Cilantro lime Rice (like costa vida)

1 cup. uncooked rice
1 T oil
1 tsp minced garlic (I use the jarred kind)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 cups chicken broth
1 T fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tsp sugar
3 T fresh chopped cilantro
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a bowl combine lime juice, sugar and chopped cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Beans Puerto Rican Style (great with Rice)

From: Wendy's friend Gloria in NY

Beans
½ bag Dried Beans (Goya brand) – I use pink or small red
3-4 tsp of sofrito (see seperate Recipe)
2 packets of Sazon Accent
1 packet of Chicken bouillon (Goya brand)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 Medium potato, peeled and cut into 4-6 pieces
2 tsp of olive oil
1/3 cup diced ham steak (optional)
Salt to taste

Pour beans into a medium size mixing bowl and cover with water, soak overnight. Next drain beans and rinse. Add into pressure cooker cover with water and cook on medium for about 25-30 minutes until tender. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, boil in a pot for about 1hr or a little more until tender.

Once beans are tender, add all the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until beans have thickened and potato is tender, you should have a stew like consistency..not super thick or too runny. Serve over rice.
**If using black beans, omit the tomato paste completely.
**If using canned beans.. use the same recipe but use 2 cans of beans instead

California Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad

1 box long grain wild rice, cooked with seasonings
3-4 grilled chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
4 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 ounces snow peas, ends removed (substitute: celery, chopped)
2 medium avocados, diced
1 cup chopped almonds (or pecans), toasted
Toss together with dressing.
Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Mix in blender. Chill for 1 hour, if possible.

Ham Fried Rice

Recipe By: Wendy Connors

Ingredients
1 Pkg Cooked Rice (white or wheat)
1/2 Cup Peas (if desired)
1 Cup Ham cut or cubed
LITE Soy Sauce to taste
1 bunch green onions
4-6 Eggs
1-2 T Bacon grease (if desired, this enhances the flavor)
3/4 Cup Frozen Corn

Directions
Scramble eggs in frying pan if using bacon grease for flavor use it to scramble the eggs in. Add Veggies and Ham heat until warmed through. Add to rice, add just enough soy sauce to flavor.
More soy sauce can be added if desired when served.