February (Charles)

Poppy Seed Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 sleeve buttery round crackers (such as Ritz), crushed
1 teaspoon poppy seeds, or more if desired
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Place the chicken breasts into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. Drain the water, then shred the chicken.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter, crackers, and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside. Blend the sour cream and cream of chicken soup in a bowl; pour half of the soup mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish. Add the shredded chicken, then pour the remaining half of the soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese, then top with the cracker mixture. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Gastrography

This casserole is one of my favorite dishes from my childhood. Whenever my sister Ryan and I were asked what we wanted to eat for dinner by my mom, nine times out of ten we would request, rather demand, poppy seed chicken. This dish is fairly easy to make meaning that we were often fed this casserole especially on nights when Mom and Dad held supper club, book club, or had their friends over for dinner. The recipe was originally my grandmother’s, and I remember standing in her kitchen full of cow paraphernalia (she is called Moo by her grandchildren and has a large cow collection) and crushing the Ritz crackers that go on top of the casserole. This dish has even appeared at Thanksgiving a couple of time because my family enjoys it so much. No matter how old I get I think I will always love this dish, and whenever I eat it will be reminded of sitting around my kitchen table with my dad always sitting on my right, my mom on my left, and my sister in front of me. I feel blessed to have had a family that sat down to eat together at least five times a week when I was growing up.