Today is my beautiful sister-in-law’s birthday. Audrey is another member of the Auburn family. She is finishing up her last year in Hotel & Restaurant Management. I have to admit, I am jealous of her path. She absolutely loves her classes and her job (working at the Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center. With her experience working the both hotel & restaurant sides of the conference center, the whole world is open to her following her graduation. Literally. She’s expressed dreams of running a hotel in Vegas, of working on a cruise ship, or even moving overseas. And here’s for my big head-in-the-clouds dream: Someday she’ll open up her own hotel and I’ll be the chef in her restaurant. 😉

Wedding Photography by Cher Hanna

When I asked Audrey what recipe she’d like featured on Sew You Think You Can Cook for her birthday she responded with “Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole.” There wasn’t any hesitation, there wasn’t any doubt. This dish is her favorite – and I can see why! The creamy chicken casserole uses few ingredients, is easy to assemble, is full of flavor, and definitely qualifies as comfort food. We served it with broccoli and crescent rolls to sop up the extra sauce.

This recipe comes from one of my mother-in-law’s friends and looks to be an adaptation of a Paula Deen recipe. I made a few tweaks – I halved the recipe and it fed 3 perfectly. (To serve 4 I’d add another chicken breast but keep the sauce quantities the same.) The recipe I have calls for cooked, shredded chicken. But we decided instead to cut chicken breasts into tenders, brown, and then layer into the casserole dish. If you opt to use shredded chicken I highly suggest serving this casserole over rice. We liked the adjustment of chicken tenders because it gave the illusion of a lighter meal, providing the opportunity to have as much or as little of the sauce as desired.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut into tenders
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 – 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 3 tbsp butter, melted

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season chicken with S+P. In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat brown chicken in olive oil.
3. Place chicken in a lightly greased 7×11″ casserole dish.
4. Combine sour cream and chicken soup. Pour over chicken.
5. Place crackers in a plastic bag to crush into crumbs. Add the poppy seeds and combine. Top casserole. Drizzle with melted butter.
6. Bake 35 minutes, until bubbly.

Note: This recipe feeds 3. To feed four add another half or whole chicken breast but keep the remaining ingredients as indicated.