I had to make a couple of changes and I'm glad I did or this dish would be very bland. First I boiled the chicken for about 15 minutes the cut it into huge chunks and threw it into a hand blender. It made it into small shreds but a nice uniform size and took a lot less time than hand shredding the chicken - I'm not a fan of chunks. At the same time I put basmati rice into a rice cooker so both the chicken and rice were done at the same time. Then I used half a can of cream of chicken and half a can of cream of mushrooms added a cup of mushrooms and a cup of chopped celery (which i sauteed while the rice and chicken were cooking) an extra 2 tablespoons of dill (I love the stuff) and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic. Also this recipe needs about 1/2 cup of milk and some major salt and peppering. This recipe is really growing on me. The more I eat it the more I really like it. Even though the Ritz crackers heat up mushy in the microwave it adds so much flavor I'm contemplating adding more. Plus I ate this at my desk today and someone followed me back to my desk by the SMELL!!!! Good stuff thanks. Great make ahead and freeze or save for the rest of the week-type meal.
This was really really good. I've never cooked with poppy seeds and only ever used dill of dip -- thanks for opening my eyes!!! I did use 1 soup can full of milk on the suggestion of other's reviews as well as about 1/2c chopped onion. Oh! and the topping I used garlic butter flavored Ritz crackers and my hubby who IS NOT a casserole type of guy loved it and actually ASKED for the leftovers the next day. This reheated wonderfully!!! Thanks so much so sharing!!!
We just had this recipe last night we loved it! It was great comfort food. I did add 1/2 cup milk like some of the other reviewers did and more dill. But I added a tbs of lemon juice to bring out the flavor more. It was a hit!
a wonderful generic chicken casserole dish this can be played with so many ways. For example add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and both sour cream and cream cheese. I also have added sautee'd peppers and onion with garlic. Peas are a nice addition to the rice or once set up and ready for the oven I lay out broccolli spears and whole skinned tomatos to give it a color contrast. I use this as one of my buffett dishes. BTW use the water you boiled the chicken in for your rice.
This was one of the best casserole recipes I've ever made! I made this for my Bunco group and I'm always trying to find something different that will appeal to twelve different ladies. I did add one soup can of milk some extra dill and some chopped onion and celery and sliced mushrooms and a little garlic. I also made this up the night before and refrigerated then put on toppings and popped it in the oven (I needed one hour at 350 but also made a larger recipe). The flavor of the poppyseed dill and the topping was so unique and delicious. This one goes in my permanent recipe collection.
Here's what I did different I sauted 4 small zucchini 1/2 lb. Crimini mushrooms 1/2 med yellow onion in butter with garlic powder and salt to taste. Substituted cream of mushroom soup then mixed everything together. My family loved it. Thanks for sharing.
I was looking for a new way to inflict leftover turkey on my family when I found this one...it was very nice. I added some extra dill but that was the only change I made. We all enjoyed this dish.
Adding the dill works wonders (it's left out in other recipes). I make it a little healthier by using fat free sour cream 98% fat free crm chicken reduced-fat Ritz and 1/4c light butter. Tastes almost as good as the real deal:)
I can't say enough good things about this dish--we LOVE it!!! Definitely add some milk (I added 3/4 of a soup can). I boiled 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts in a 3 qt pot of water with 3 chicken bouillon cubes some garlic powder paprika cayenne pepper and seasoning salt until tender for about 1 hour (bring to boil and reduce heat to med-high). When chicken was done I drained broth and shredded using two forks---it's so tender this way!!!! Used basmati rice and cooked while chicken was cooking. Added extra dill and seasoned with seasoning salt and pepper to suit our tastes. Used extra Ritz on top--they're so yummy! Also sauteed some celery and onion in olive oil and added to the mixture. PERFECT!!!!
I found this recipe to be exceptionally dry.
