mom's chicken poppyseed casserole

this is my mom's go-to casserole for taking dinner to anyone. baby born, family member passes away, whatever. this is what she takes. and everyone always asks for the recipe. i have to cut down on the sour cream because a)i don't like sour cream and b) it seems too creamy to me if you add the full amount. other than that, i love this recipe. so let's get started.

you'll need a package of chicken, a can of cream of chicken soup, sour cream, ritz crackers, poppy seeds, and butter.

start by boiling the chicken for 30 minutes, or until it's no longer pink. i generally use strips because they're easier to shred but breasts work fine too (like i have here).while the chicken is cooking, mix the cream of chicken soup with 8 oz. sour cream. spread a little bit on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.


once the chicken is cooked, tear it into pieces into the pan (i know this one is square...ignore it).then pour the rest of the mixture on top of the chicken
and spread it out evenly.
put a tube and a half of ritz crackers in a ziploc and smash it into crumbs with a rolling pin.
can we talk about rolling pins for a minute? this one's mine. it's marble. it was expensive. it works great at smashing up crackers. but sometimes, i think my rolling pin gets a little sad. we use it for smashing crackers, crushing ice, and isaac sometimes uses it as a steamroller when he's playing with trucks. sometimes i think it's saying "seriously? this is what you're using me for? i'm supposed to be used for pastries...pies, tarts! homemade noodles! pasta! other yummy things!" but no. i don't use it for those things. because i don't know how...or even if i do (i have watched it done a million times and i have recipes), i'm scared. and this rolling pin represents my failures and wimpiness in the kitchen. maybe someday i'll get brave enough to try those things. until then, i hope this rolling pin gets used to smashing crackers.

spread the crackers evenly over the cream of chicken soup mixture.

then melt some butter in the microwave. recipe calls for an entire stick. i did 1 tbsp. an entire stick? seriously? yuck. i don't even know why you need it for this recipe. but i can't just leave it all out, since it calls for so much...so i add a little.
see?
now pour it on top
and sprinkle 2-3 tbsp. on top.

i'm not sure what poppy seeds are for. they provide no flavor...in muffins you can crunch them a little, but this casserole? no idea what it's for. but it's in the title, so add it.
see? pretty....sort of.
now pop it in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

enjoy!


mom's chicken poppyseed casserole

1 package of chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 tubes Ritz crackers
2-3 tbsp. poppyseeds
1 stick (8 tbsp.) of butter

boil chicken 30 minutes. mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream together. spread a little on the bottom of the pan, then shred chicken on top of that. add the rest of the mixture on top of the chicken. crush the ritz crackers and spread on top of soup mixture. sprinkle poppyseeds on top of the crackers, then pour melted butter over the whole thing. cook at 350* for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.