Recipe Refresh: Hawaiian Haystacks

My children are in love with Hawaiian Haystacks. I'm 99% sure it has something to do with the fact that they can choose what they want to put on their haystack. Oh, the freedom of making choices is so liberating, right?  The "original" recipe I'm using is posted on Redhead Recipes (I doubled the sauce to be comparable to my refresh). The only challenge in making over this recipe is in the sauce. The original recipe calls for cream of chicken in the sauce, which doesn't exactly classify as healthy in my book. Anything that keeps its shape when poured out of a can grosses me out.

When I asked my husband if he liked the taste of the new sauce, he asked if he should be scared what I put in it. I admit I can be a little too creative when it comes to these things. The final review of the sauce was a B+. I liked it, my children preferred it over the original, but my husband still said he preferred the original.

Recipe Refresh: Hawaiian Haystacks
12 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 30 minutes            READY IN: 45 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 2 chicken breasts
• 4 cups of brown rice, cooked
• Sauce:
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Desired toppings (these are what I use):
• black olives
• green onions
• cheese
• tomatoes
• chow mein noodles
• crushed pineapple

DIRECTIONS

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1. Boil the chicken until it's cooked and then shred. (Or buy a cooked rotisserie chicken and debone it). 
2. Start on the sauce. First melt the butter in a large saucepan. Once it's completely melted, add the flour and wisk together. Add the chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Bring it to a simmer and cook until it sets up and is to the consistency you like.
3. While the sauce is simmering, cut up the toppings of your choice and place them in little serving dishes.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1/2 cup serving    446 calories   16.6g fat   57.2g carbs    17.7g protein    3.6g sugar   

Original Recipe	Refresh Recipe
Sauce: 2 cans cream of chicken, 1 cup sour cream, and 2 cans chicken broth	Sauce: 8 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 can chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups milk
White Rice	Brown Rice for the extra whole grains and nutrients
Low in sugar	Low in sugar as well, but high in manganese and vitamin B6. Not as many preservatives in this recipe.

Though this recipe doesn't change much in the nutritional facts, I like that everything is made right in my kitchen and it didn't take anymore time than the original recipe. If you have any ideas on how you would make the sauce even healthier, I'm all ears! Please share in the comments below.


Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Redhead Recipes.