Poppy Seed Chicken

We had this dinner on Veteran's Day. I thought I'd be a good mom & turn dinner time into a learning opportunity to help the kids understand why they had the day off of school. Veteran's Day is also known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day because of all the red poppies that bloomed across the battlefields that had been littered with bodies & blood after WWI. Gorgeous red flowers sprouted to transform a horrible scene of bloodshed into a thing of beauty. As if nature itself had built a memorial to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country & fellow man. So I decided that Poppy Seed Chicken would be a fun little tribute to the red poppy & a good segway into the discussion. And then my beloved husband had to try & squash my thunder by making sure I realized that the seeds in our meal came from the illegal-drug poppy - not the pretty red ones! LOL Party pooper!

Here are your fixins:


Cooked chicken, chicken broth, sour cream, cream of chicken, Ritz, butter, poppy seeds. This is a pretty easy meal to make lighter - just get the healthy request soup, light sour cream - you can even get reduced fat Ritz!

First we're gonna mix together our soup, sour cream & broth. When I cook my chicken I boil it in some water & season it with season salt, garlic, pepper & onion. Once the chicken is done cooking I just use that water as my broth.



Now add in your chicken & poppy seeds. Stir it around to coat it well.


Dump that mixture into an 8x8 pan & then use your hands to crush a whole roll of Ritz crackers over the top of it all.


Melt your butter & pour it evenly over the crackers.


Pop it into a 350 oven for 30 minutes.



This is such a simple dish but it is SO wonderful! I guess it's a Southern thing...? Or so I've heard. If you have never had it you need to make this for dinner TONIGHT! Serve it with some brown rice - either on top of the rice or beside it.


You wanna know one of my little pet peeves? A monochromatic meal. Somehow I managed to have a tan main dish with brown rice, a tan roll & green beans that were breaded in brown! LOL Oh well. Life goes on, I guess.

Poppy Seed Chicken:

For an 8x8:
2 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 roll Ritz crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted (1/2 stick)
1-2 Tbsp poppy seeds

For a 9x13 - just double everything & if you'd like, try cream of mushroom as your 2nd can of soup!

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix soup, broth & sour cream in a bowl. Add chicken & poppy seeds; stir to coat. Pour into an 8x8 pan. Top with crushed crackers & top with melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve with brown rice.