Adding Fun to dinnertime!

"There is no better time of the day than we when we are all together sitting around the table eating dinner as a family and enjoying great conversation one with another"! (kimmie)

Each month I add 2 or 3 FUN meals to break up the many soups and bean dishes we eat. By adding a little Fun to dinner, it keeps us from eating out.

Whether you call them
"Haystacks" or "Sundaes" this meal is always a hit with everyone, because each person gets to make them however they please with as little or as much of any topping available. Especially my little Ethan. He is not a tomato eater, but he knows there is no use complaining when a soup has tomatoes in it and so he eats whatever we serve for dinner and never complains.
However, he LOVES when we make these as he gets to go along the counter and choose his toppings of choice and it's fun to see all of our plates dished up to see what each one of us likes.

I usually make these in January because whole chickens usually go on sale as well as bell peppers and tomatoes and also...
January/February means
CHINESE NEW YEAR,
(which this year is on February 14th).
I usually make this meal served up with some fortune cookies to celebrate
Chinese New Year and
break up the monotony of wintertime.
Kids LOVE having a FUN occasion to celebrate!

I usually make this at 2:00 in the afternoon

and then I put this in the Crock-pot on low until dinner time. The longer cooking really makes the chicken really tender.

I then chop all of the veggie toppings
and have them in containers so when it’s dinner time all you have to do is cook up some rice and then pull out the toppings and the kids can make their haystacks to their own liking.

Chinese Sundaes/Hawaiian Haystacks
Sauce:
¾ cup flour
1/3 cup butter
3 cups chicken/turkey broth
3 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
2-3 cups chopped chicken or turkey
(great thing to make with leftover Thanksgiving turkey)

Melt butter and stir in flour.
Take off heat and slowly stir in milk and broth and salt.
Heat to boiling and then
Add in chicken or turkey and boil for another 5 minutes

Serve over rice with grated cheese (optional)
and any of the following toppings:
Chopped celery, chopped tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, pineapple, coconut, sliced olives, Chinese noodles, sunflower seeds, cashews, OR anything else that sounds good to you.

The price of the Haystacks were
Chicken $3.23
celery-- $1.00,
3 tomatoes--$1.27
2 bell peppers--1.00
1 can of olives--.79
1 can of pineapple tidbits--.89
about .75 worth of rice
Cashews...about .50
and ½ can Chinese noodles--.50
So $9.93 fed 4 people 2 lunches and 2 dinners.
Pretty economical if I do say so myself and very healthy and tasty as well!

Happy Week of celebrations...
Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day!