Okay!  If you want a scrumptious meal that appeals to a variety of appetites (and picky eaters), try some Japanese Stack-Ups!

Imagine this…

1. Start with a bowl of steaming brown rice.
2. Add toppings of your choice such as tasty green onions; crunchy celery; juicy, sweet pineapple; warm shredded chicken; and your favorite cheese.
3. Then, douse that with a sensational “sauce” of chicken broth combined with cream of chicken soup.
4. Finally, top your concoction with those delicious, crunchy Chow Mein noodles.

THAT is Japanese Stack-Ups, one of our favorite family meals!

To enjoy this meal…purchase and prepare the following ingredients. You can make as little or as much as you like, so I’m not suggesting exact amounts:

CHICKEN – Use whatever part of the chicken you like; I usually use chicken breast which I cook in the crock pot and shred with two forks.  (You could also mix the chicken in with the “sauce” if you wanted to, pouring it over the rice and then adding the other toppings).  Speaking of crock pots, I use crock pots for almost all of our meals, ever since I discovered them in 1996!  (I have 3 but I’ve had them for a LONG time, and I’ve been eyeing this pretty one from Pioneer Lady).RICE – You can use the boxed or bagged rice off the shelves, or make it super easy by purchasing the microwaveable bags of rice.  We always use brown rice because it’s a little healthier, but you could use white or other kinds.

GREEN ONIONS – Just my one daughter and I eat the onions, so the others can just leave that out when they are building their stack-ups.  I love the green onion flavor with this recipe.  I usually just buy one bunch of green onions, trim the ends, and then dice them up.

CELERY – Celery adds a little yummy crunch and a little goes a long way, so there’s plenty of celery left to enjoy with some peanut butter!  Just wash it and slice it.  (When I was growing up, we used to peel the celery.  Do people still do that?  Seems kinda pointless).

PINEAPPLE – You can go the extra mile and use fresh pineapple, but I just use a can of Dole  pineapple tidbits.  This adds some extra sweetness to contrast all the other flavors.  I don’t really love the pineapple in it, but some people really do.

CHEESE – I just buy shredded cheese from the store – whatever brand is on sale, even though I know it is better to shred my own to avoid the cellulose and other chemicals that preserve freshness and keep the cheese from all clumping together.  The cheese definitely adds some more YUM to this recipe.

SAUCE – You will need chicken broth and cream of chicken soup.  The sauce is better if it’s a bit on the thicker side, so you may want to do the same amount of each item, rather than a big container of chicken broth and just a small can of cream of chicken soup.  Of course, it’s also up to you if you want to make it more soupy or more thick.

CHOW MEIN NOODLES – Not much explanation needed here.  They are the perfect topping to this delectable repast.  Just toss a handful on top, sit down quickly and enjoy!

Why should YOU make Japanese Stack-Ups? 

Well, really, it’s a question of why not?  It is a meal that is cost-effective, easy to make, has broad appeal and is delicious!  So, you really can’t go wrong, right?

EASY TO MAKE – This recipe is not confusing or labor-intensive at all.  Only 8 ingredients, several of which you are just opening and putting in a pan or dish.  Making the chicken took me less than 5 minutes, to put it in the crock pot (with some chicken broth) then take it out and shred it.  As far as the rice, I just added water and rice and zapped it in the microwave.  The sauce ingredients were just poured in a sauce pan to heat up, while the cheese, pineapple and chow mein noodles went straight in a dish.  Then, I spent a few minutes slicing the celery and green onions.  No big deal!

COST EFFECTIVE – You can make a big batch of this meal for a pretty small amount of money.  Maybe eat it a few days in a row or serve it to a crowd.  🙂  The only real cost is the chicken, which I personally get on sale at Sprouts.  The other items combined should be less than $20.

BROAD APPEAL – Probably the majority of people like basic chicken and rice dishes.  All of the toppings are in separate bowls so people can pick and choose which toppings they desire.  Two of our daughters just do chicken, rice, sauce and chow mein noodles.  The other daughter is a great eater and will pile hers up with everything.  Hubby doesn’t like the onions or the pineapple, and I like everything but the pineapple.  So, this is one of the dishes you can pretty much serve to any crowd and each person will find some variation to enjoy.

SCRUMPTIOUS FACTOR – We find this meal to be tasty, appetizing, flavorful, mouth-watering and all the other synonyms for YUMMY!   Seriously – I ate 3 bowls of it the other night.  (Yikes!)  SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYY!!

You definitely should try it to see if you agree!  Thanks for reading and for trying out this recipe!  I’d love to know what you think.

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If you need a good crock pot cookbook, these are my three favorites…

Fix It and Forget It is the first crock pot cookbook I ever purchased.   I have made MANY of the recipes in this one, as well as purchasing it for others.

Taste of Home Slow Cooker Cookbook is full of delicious recipes!  Two of my favorites are “Skier’s Stew” on page 187 and “Rosemary Chicken with White Beans” on page 150, although that one was not good as leftovers, just good the first time!

And, the third favorite is Fix-It and Forget It New Cookbook with 250 new recipes and with pictures included, which is awesome!  This has “Best-in-the-West Beans” on page 256 which were super, and “Mexican Haystacks”, which are a similar idea to Japanese Stack-Ups, on page 136.

If you click on any of the pictures of items I have suggested, it will take you to Amazon where you can purchase those things.  If you do, I will get a teeny-tiny bit of money.  See disclosure for more info on that!