Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole with Rice

Adapted from The Ashcroft Family Table Blog

Ingredients

• 2-3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts, about 3 cups
• 2  10.5 ounces canned cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 2 cups cooked white rice

Ingredients for Topping

• 3.4 ounces crushed Ritz crackers, 1 sleeve
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley (optional)
• 1/4 cup greated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat a 9 X 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix shredded chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour creaam, and COOKED rice.
3. Pour the chicken mixture into the greased pan and spread into an even layer. Top with cracker crumb mixture listed below.
4. Mix crushed Ritz cracker, melted butter, poppy seeds, dried parsley, and grated Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.  Spread on top of chicken mixture.
5. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until topping is crispy and the mixture is bubbling.

Notes

This recipe serves 8.  If I need to increase size, I increase the total melted butter to just less than 1/2 cup, add another cream of chicken soup or a can of mushroom soup, and more sour cream as needed.  The chicken and rice mixture may be made on the day before and refrigerated but you may need to add 10 -15 more minutes to baking.  This recipe may be made without rice as well by possibly adjusting to only 1 can of cream of chicken soup.  This recipe is great if you have leftover rice and/or chicken.  If you are in a hurry, buy a rotisserie chicken and shred or pull it.