Chinese Haystacks

So I was going to bow out of this challenge, even though it was my own. I used water chestnuts this week, but it wasn't a new meal. I'll share it anyway. It's pretty easy and pretty yummy. And it's only sort-of cheating. I don't make this meal often because it's a lot of chopping for not a lot of results, and I'm only cooking for two real people right now. I make it a lot when we have company over, though. But it's not like it's a "same ol' same ol'" type of meal. In my family, we call it Chinese Haystacks, but some people call it Hawaiian Haystacks.

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Chow mein noodles
Rice
Meat (diced ham, shredded chicken or turkey...whatever you prefer, or any combination)

Chopped celery
Chopped carrots
Chopped tomato
Chopped green onions
Chopped pineapple (one can, drained)
Chopped water chestnuts (about 1/3 to 1/2 of a can)
Chopped bell pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese

Gravy (cream of chicken soup and milk...one can soup to half a can of milk)

Start with putting the noodles on your plate. Cover them with rice. Next comes the meat. Then add any and all veggie ingredients to your pile. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Pour gravy, mix, and enjoy.

Adjust the portions as necessary. For all the veggie stuff, I usually chop up enough of each to almost fill a small Pyrex custard dish, and that ends up being enough for four people's dinners with a little leftover for one lunch the next day. (Side note: if you're going to save leftovers, dumped everything into one container, except the chow mein noodles. The next day, heat the food in the container, then add the noodles later, so they don't get soggy.)
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As I mentioned before, I only ever make this meal when we have people over, so I'm obviously giving it 5 stars -- good enough for a dinner party!