Here's what you do:
Cook several chicken breasts (I use frozen ones) in a big fry pan in oil (or butter if you prefer).
Remove chicken to cool and cube up in big bite size pieces.
In the big pan, add enough oil to heat up and add a couple of tablespoons of flour to make a roux. Brown the flour for a few minutes on medium high heat but watch carefully so you don't burn it.
Add a can of chicken broth, stir and heat to bubbling. Stir in a can of Cream of Chicken soup and heat. Lastly, add a container of sour cream. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Thickness will depend on how well you make the flour roux. You may have to add additional water or milk to make the right consistency. Sometimes it takes practice. Gravy is an art. Don't give up.
Add the chicken back into the gravy and heat thoroughly. I transferred it to a heated up slow cooker as I was serving a crowd. You want it to be piping hot when you serve it.
The rest of the story:
This dish is called "haystacks" because you start with a bed of rice. Pour the chicken and gravy over the rice. Then your guests can add whatever they want from this list of items you've laid out before them:
Shredded Colby cheese
Frozen peas
Water chestnuts
Pineapple
Coconut
Cashews
Sliced almonds
Mandarin oranges
Maraschino cherries
Green onions
Celery
Chopped olives
Dry oriental noodles (the kind you put on chow mien)
Red bell pepper
Sugar snap peas (chopped)
Anything else you can think of to put on the table (maybe jalapenos next time?)
This dish is over-the-top yummy! The best part is asking your guests to bring one item to add to the buffet line. Fun fun fun!!
