Lulu's Recipe Box

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

Poppyseed chicken casserole was one of my favorite dishes growing up. I would request it for every birthday dinner. My mom told me that my grandma got the recipe from her bridge group years ago and passed it on to her and now me. Now I can share it with you, and hopefully it will become a favorite in your household as well!

Note: The picture shown is the recipe cut in half. It will serve about 4-5 people. The full recipe as shown below will serve about 10-12.

 

Ingredients:
8 whole chicken breasts (you can use frozen chicken breasts to make it cheaper)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 small carton sour cream (4 oz)
1 tube Ritz crackers
1 T. poppyseed

Directions:
Cover the chicken with water in a large stockpot and bring water to a boil. Cook until done, but not too long. You don't want them to dry out. They will continue to cook a little bit in the oven. Let the chicken breasts cool off, then cut into small bite-size pieces. Mix the chicken with the cream of chicken, cream of celery, and sour cream. Put this mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

Put the Ritz crackers into a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crumble the crackers. Add the poppyseed to the bag. Melt 4 tablespoons butter, then add to the bag. Shake to distribute the butter. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole

This is another delicious recipe that my mom made while I was home this past week in Iowa. If you like the Chicken and Noodles recipe that I posted late February, then you will love this one as well. It is a little more rich in flavor. I would compare the white sauce to a lighter alfredo. I'm not a big alfredo fan but I loved the sauce in this dish! I think it originally came from allrecipes.com but she made some changes to the recipe.

Ingredients:
8 oz. spaghetti - cooked according to package directions, rinsed with cold water and cut with scissors into smaller pieces
2 1/2 c. shredded, cooked chicken (I buy the rotisserie chicken at the grocery store)
1 c. sliced mushrooms - saute in 1 T. olive oil

For the white sauce:
3 T. butter
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 T. cooking sherry
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
1/3 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 c. fat free half and half

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over almost medium heat. Slowly add the flour, salt and pepper. Whisk together. Whisk in the chicken broth and sherry until lumps disappear. Gradually add the cheeses and whisk until all melted. Whisk in the fat free half and half gradually.

For the topping:
Use a food processor/blender to make bread crumbs. You could also use cracker crumbs with Ritz crackers. Mix with 1-2 T. butter.

Mix the chicken, spaghetti, mushrooms and white sauce together and pour into casserole pan. Top with bread crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Prosciutto and Potato Gratin

While I was making this today, I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out. But it ended up being full of flavor and perfect as a main dish. It is very filling. Making it for only TC and I, we have plenty of leftovers. I used Havarti cheese because it was cheaper at the grocery store but you can use whichever cheese you prefer from the ones listed below. I left out the peas because we don't like them. I also forgot to ask the deli lady to cut the prosciutto 1/2 inch thick but it still turned out fine. Next time I make it, I think I will use less onion. There seemed to be an abundance of onion. It would be a great dish for when you have company! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 cup. milk
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Several grinds black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1 T. minced fresh sage (could probably use dry sage to save some money especially with such a small amount)
1/2 cup semi-dry Reisling
3 drop Tabasco or other hot sauce
2 lbs. small potatoes, peel them and cook; then slice for layering
2 large onion, sliced; saute 10 minutes in 2 T. oil
1/4 lb. prosciutto, cut 1/2 inch thick, then diced
1 10-ounce box frozen peas
4-6 ounces Caraway Havarti cheese, Leiden or Gruyere cheese, shredded

1. Make a white sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, 5 minutes, until incorporated and thickened. Add milk slowly, whisking thoroughly to prevent lumps. When smooth and thick, add next ingredients through Tabasco. Cook over low heat 1 minute. Discard bay leaf and set sauce aside.

2. In a baking pan (9 x 13), layer sauce, potatoes, onions, prosciutto, and peas, sprinkling cheese between each layer. Start and end with sauce.

3. Preheat oven to 375.

4. Bake uncovered about 40 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Serve hot as a main course.

Makes 4-6 course servings.