Mint Kitchen Love: Cheesy Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

I still remember the first time I ever ate this casserole. My grandmother had passed away, so people at our church brought food, as is custom. And one woman brought a casserole, and I looked at it very skeptically. But when I took my first bite and had the creaminess from the sour cream, cheese and cream cheese, combined with the buttery Ritz crackers that topped it, I was in love. I begged my dad to make it, so he got the recipe, and it's been one of my favorite things for him to make ever since. When I was in college, I really missed eating this dish.

Now that I'm married and 8 hours from Chef Dad, if I want this casserole, I have to make it all on my own. Luckily, it's not hard to make! I changed it ever so slightly from his I still don't think it's as good as my dad's, though. It's missing the secret ingredient: love. I'm corny, whatever.

Here's what you need:

3 C of shredded chicken
1 Tbs of poppy seeds
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
1 C of sour cream
4 oz (1/2 block) of cream cheese softened
1 1/2 C of your favorite shredded cheese (we love sharp cheddar)
2 C of crushed Ritz Crackers
1/2 C of melted butter

Here's what you do:

Boil your chicken, let it cool, then shred it.
Preheat your oven to 350 and spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the poppy seeds, Cream of Chicken soup, sour cream, cream cheese, and shredded cheese with a hand mixer until well blended.
Add your chicken and mix it in with the creamy mixture.
In another bowl, mix together your crushed Ritz Crackers and melted butter until the crackers are well coated.
Dump your chicken mixture into the baking dish and spread it around evenly.
Put the Ritz Crackers evenly over the top of the chicken mixture.
Place a sheet of tin foil loosely over the baking dish, place the dish in the oven, and cook for 15 minutes.
Take the foil off then let it bake for another 15 minutes.

It's such a simple casserole, but it's filling and it doesn't take too long to make. And, because it's a casserole, you don't have to make any side dishes if you don't want to!