Lemon Poppyseed Chicken

Sorry to leave you for so long, I got very lazy towards the end of spring break and had to take a small hiatus.  This past weekend was also one of my teammate's birthday, so of course we had to celebrate that a few times.  And yesterday was back to the school grind... If anything, I believe that Spring Break has made me want graduation to come that much sooner! I know that everyone says to enjoy the time you have in school but my four years of college have been very, very busy! Plus, I honestly enjoy my job; so I guess I'm not too worried.

Anyway, the recipe I have for you today is probably Mr. Cowboy's all time favorite recipe of mine.  I guess he's very easy to please in the food department.  Despite its simplicity, this is a very yummy casserole that is so easy.  While leftover chicken is a rarity in my house, this would be a perfect opportunity to use some up if you had any.

I first ran across this recipe on my family rips to Virginia.  My aunt would often make a large quantity of this dish to feed the crowd and allow everyone (cough, cough, me) to the opportunity for a midnight snack.  Her version did not have the lemon in it and was wonderful.  However, being the self-professed lemon head, I doused a serving with a touch of lemon one day.  Amen, Hallelujah, a star was born!

 (The missing section above is after Mr. Cowboy's FIRST portion.)


Notes:

• If you are not a lemon fan, feel free to leave out the juice.
• If you would like a little variation on the theme, add 1/8 t dried thyme to the sour cream mixture for a little extra punch.
• Depending on how large you like ingredients in casseroles, feel free to chunk, shred, or dice the chicken into pieces.
• If you are using leftover chicken, just add enough chicken to approximate 3 breasts or until you feel there is enough chicken to satisfy your family.

Lemon Poppyseed Chicken

• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3 chicken breasts, roasted and diced
• 1 - 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 1/2 tubes butter crackers, crushed
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3 t poppyseeds

Preheat to 350.

In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, soup, and chicken.  Add in lemon juice gradually to taste.
Mix thoroughly.

In another medium bowl, combine the crackers, poppyseeds, and butter.  Stir well to combine.

When constructing, you have two options. Option 1: In a casserole dish, spread all of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the pan and top with the cracker mixture. Option 2: Repeat the above process with half of both mixtures to have layers.

Bake 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling.