I love casseroles. I think I could eat a casserole every single day if I had an abundance of time and resources. It’s the heartiness of casseroles that sends me over the moon. But more so, I love how the assortment of ingredients always meld together perfectly into a single dish. I didn’t know how much I loved casseroles until June of 2005, though. That’s right; at 9 years old, I knew for the rest of my life that I’d be full-on casserole crazy.
My mom had just given birth to my baby sister at the start of June. And after spending days upon days at the hospital, our family arrived back home to a porch filled with full Tupperware dishes. Unbeknownst to us, my friend’s (Rebekah Mock) mom, Joni Mock, took the time to prepare a wonderful meal for us to come back home to after my sister’s delivery. Once we got the dishes into the house and onto the kitchen countertop, we began digging into the deliciousness.
However, one of the dishes looked strange to me, as I had never seen anything like it before. But I was so hungry that I was not easily deterred from adding the concoction onto my plate. It was a white creamy mixture that I plopped onto my plate, right over my bed of rice. I took one bite of it, and in true “That’s-So-Raven” fashion, had a vision of what dreams tasted like; of what euphoria felt like; of what dish must have been served in Heaven daily. Poppyseed Chicken Casserole was the culprit of my ecstasy. From that point on, I made sure that my mom made that dish on a regular basis. And all throughout childhood, into my college years, that was the first dish that I learned how to make for myself.
Here's the scoop on my life-changing Poppyseed Chicken Casserole dish:
Brandon’s Perfect Poppyseed Chicken Casserole:
Ingredients
-2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
-1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
-1/4 teaspoon Salt
-1/4 teaspoon Pepper
-1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
-1 8-oz. can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
-1 8-oz container of Sour Cream
-1 long sleeve of Butter Ritz Crackers (about 32 Crackers)
-4 Tablespoons Melted Butter (salted or unsalted—I used salted normally)
-1/2 Tablespoon of Poppy Seeds
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Take a mallet and pound the chicken breasts into a uniform thickness. (This makes the chicken breasts more tender and delicious when eating!)
- Place the chicken breasts into a bowl and marinate with the salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. (Use the listed measurements or season to your heart’s content!)
- Bake the chicken for 22 minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the oven and cover the pan with aluminum foil. This allows the chicken to rest and re-absorb its juices.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the sour cream and cream of mushroom soup into a medium-sized bowl. Stir and set aside.
- Dice the rested chicken breasts into medium-sized cubes. Next, put the chicken into the cream mixture and stir.
- Take 2 tablespoons of the chicken juices from the chicken pan and pour into the cream mixture. Stir again and set aside. (This gives the casserole mixture an extra great flavor!)
- Lightly butter a casserole dish (the standard casserole dish size is 9 in x 13 in). Pour the chicken-cream mixture into the casserole dish. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, crush the 32 ritz crackers with your hands or mallet. Pour in the 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Stir the mixture. Sprinkle the cracker topping mixture on top of the chicken-cream mixture.
- Sprinkle the ½ tablespoon of poppy seeds evenly over the top.
- Bake the dish for 20-30 minutes until gently bubbling and golden brown on top. (Mine took 20 minutes!)
- Take the dish out, set aside, and allow to cool. Spoon the mixture onto a plate over a bed of rice (if preferred) and prepare for your life to be forever changed!!!!
You’re welcome!!!
