Poppy Seed Chicken

This recipe is my concoction of my friend Kim's recipe and one I saw in Bell's Best cookbook. Variations below. I've never seen the same poppy seed recipe printed as they all have a slight difference.

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts, boiled
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz sour cream
1 stick of butter
1 tube of Ritz crackers
Poppy Seeds

Instructions:

1. Cook chicken. Then, cube/shred it.
2. Mix soups and sour cream.
3. Combine soup mixture with chicken and put in casserole dish.
4. Melt butter in pan, then remove from heat.
5. Crumble crackers in zip lock bag or in tube.
6. Mix crumbs in butter until all butter is absorbed.
7. Top casserole with cracker mixture and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
8. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Watch for the soup mixture to bubble and it is done.
9. Serve over your choice of rice.

Variations: I've seen recipes that call for cream of chicken instead of cream of celery, added almond slivers, more sour cream and/or whole chicken breasts vs. diced/shredded. I put together what I like best.

This recipe is pretty simple and doesn't call for too much.

The soup and chicken mix are ready to be topped with cracker mixture before baking.

While the butter melts, I put the Ritz crackers in a zip lock bag to contain the crumbs as I crush them. Remember: you cannot crush them too much. After topping the casserole with the cracker mixture, don't forget to sprinkle the poppy seeds on it. I have forgotten before and my husband claims that the poppy seeds make it taste better. I couldn't tell or maybe I was just too hungry and didn't notice.

Final Product. I usually use a casserole dish or 9x13 dish, but I was giving the disposable tin portion away this time. This could be served as a main dish. It is also a "comfort" food as it is not spicy for sensitive breastfeeding moms and it is very satisfying and filling. One new mom told me she received 3 versions of poppy seed chicken after having her son and that they all tasted different (but good :).