Poppy Seed Chicken

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

I've referenced my Mother-in-law's cookbook before, and yet again, we introduce a blog worthy recipe from it. 

Poppy Seed Chicken. I.e. food your kids will eat. This is the kind of dish you make when you have family or friends in and you want to please the crowd. A dish that even picky eaters will enjoy. And the best part, it tastes just as good as left overs. Maybe even better.

Oh hey, welcome to the cheat version. So, I figured out that using a rotisserie, although more expensive, is tastier. And easier. Easier probably makes it tastier.

Go Falcons! Stop losing!

So you literally shred the chicken and then dump everything else in.

Fact or fiction: poppy seeds show up on a drug test as marijuana? 

Once you mix the sour cream, cream of chicken, poppy seeds and chicken, you will top with buttery crackers and then more butter. Butter is better.

This is the golden delight of having baked for an hour.

Since I'm obsessed with quinoa now, I served it over that. You can also serve over rice. 

I'm telling you, this stuff is good!

Poppy Seed Chicken

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cook Time: 1 hr.

Total Time: 1 hr 20 min.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chicken
1 can condensed cream of chicken
1 cup of sour creem
1 tbls. poppy seeds
1 sleeve of butter crackers
4 tbls. of butter (melted)

Directions:

Shred about 2 cups of chicken and mix with cream of chicken, sour cream and poppy seeds. Spray a 9x13 baking dish and fill with chicken mixture. Crush butter crackers and spread evenly over top of mixture. Spoon melted butter over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hr.

Serve with rice/grain.

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

This is another one of Jen's regulars and it will be one of ours now too! Very simple with few ingredients, yet it explodes with flavor. I also learned a new trick from reading reviews. Have you ever boiled your chicken in chicken stock instead of water? Probably. I'm typically a little behind the curve. But this was, AH-ma-zing!!!! I gave Hannah just the chicken right after it was cooked and she devoured it. It was extremely juicy and a quick protein solution.

Growing up (well - until this recipe), I hated poppy seeds. I associated them with old people and gross bagels. The everything bagel, in specific. I worked at Einstein Brothers Bagels when I was in high school (and then again after I quit) and I would always cringe when older people would come in and get an everything bagel with light cream cheese. Back then, I was naive. I thought that because the bagel had onion, garlic, sesame seeds and poppy seeds all over it that it was going to taste just like an onion and get seeds stuck in all the pockets of my teeth. Half of that is true. But, now that I have a mature (not old person mature) and sophisticated pallet (sorta), I'll eat an everything bagel with regular fat cream cheese and possibly lox! I've also discovered that the poppy seed doesn't have much flavor at all and is really just used for a pop of color and thickening agent. 

I've also learned that Hannah just whines whenever Lucas is near her so she can get my attention. Sometimes it's a legitimate cry for help, but most of the time it's just her toddler-dar going off, so I had to send Cali out back with Luke to get this meal cooked.

The Gang

Just some chicken, cream of chicken (cream of mushroom is a good substitute if you prefer that flavor), sour cream, crackers and poppy seed. I added beans and french fried onions to jazz it up a bit.

After I simply threw in my raw chicken into a boiling pot of delicious chicken stock, I shredded it and seasoned with salt and pepper. 

Mix the core ingredients and add a veggie if you want to make it more of an all-in-one casserole.

 Get it spread out into a lightly sprayed baking dish and top with either crushed crackers or  about a cup of french fried onions and call it a day. 

We put spoonfuls on top of a bed of couscous and went back for seconds. Some even had thirds 

(cough cough - Cali)!

Poppy Seed Chicken

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups shredded chicken
1 can organic green beans

1 can condensed cream of chicken
1 cup of sour creem
1 tbls. poppy seeds
1 cup French Fried Onions
1 sleeve of butter crackers
4 tbls. of butter (melted)

Directions:

Boil chicken in 2 cups of chicken stock. Once cooled, shred about 2 cups of chicken and then add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the chicken with cream of chicken, sour cream, green beans and poppy seeds. Spray a 9x13 baking dish and fill with chicken mixture. Crush butter crackers or fried onions and spread evenly over top of mixture. Spoon melted butter over crackers, if used. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hr. Serve over couscous or your favorite grain.