Poppy Seed Chicken
My childhood favorite...minus the poppy seeds
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped, or 3 12.5-ounce cans cooked chicken, drained
- 2 cans (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp sherry cooking wine (optional)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
- 2 cups instant rice, uncooked
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers (appx. 26 crackers), crushed
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, cream soup, sour cream, broth, lemon juice and sherry, if using, and uncooked rice. Pour this mixture into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the Ritz crackers and butter. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 45 minutes until heated through. Cover with foil if the crackers start to get too brown.
Notes
- I know that canned chicken is generally a no-no, but somehow in this recipe it really works. You'll want to break up the larger pieces of chicken before adding the remaining ingredients. I use my hands.
- The lemon juice and sherry give it a sophisticated flavor, but they aren't necessary. Your junior high kids will prefer if you leave them out.
- I often leave out the butter in the cracker topping. I can't even tell the difference, honestly.
- No, there aren't any poppy seeds in this casserole. Yes, I know that's strange.