From Scratch Poppy seed Chicken Casserole

   I grew up eating this delicious Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole made with chicken, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 container of sour cream, and 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers.  Since starting my food exploration and leaving behind canned foods, I have longed to find a way to make this recipe healthy and delicious.  I finally achieved my goal!

I made homemade cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup.  I got the recipe for the cream of chicken soup here:   http://www.momswhothink.com/soup-recipes/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup.html

It's so easy!

I started with these ingredients, and I created a delicious dinner!  The ingredient blocked by the sour cream is pepper.

You just boil 1/2 cup of milk, 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of parsley, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, and 1/8 tsp of paprika for 2 minutes.

While that's boiling, combine 1 cup of milk and 3/4 cups of flour in another bowl and whisk them together to combine them.

After the stovetop mixture has boiled for 2 minutes, you slowly whisk in the milk and flour mixture to thicken it.

It will become noticeably thicker.  Once this happens, and it starts bubbling, it is finished!  I went ahead and poured it into a casserole dish.

For the cream of mushroom soup, I used a variation of this approach that I concocted myself.  I placed 3-4 tablespoons of butter in a saute pan with a package of mushrooms.  I sauteed the mushrooms in the butter until they were soft.  Once the butter had cooked out, I added 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/4 tsp of dried, ground thyme.  I let that boil for 2 minutes, and then, I added the 1 cup of milk and 3/4 cups of flour I had whisked together.  I whisked the milk and flour mixture in until it became noticeably thicker.

Once it bubbled, I took it off the stove and poured it into the casserole dish with the cream of chicken soup mixture.

I added an 8 oz container of sour cream, and I mixed all 3 items together in the casserole dish until they were completely combined.

I added some chicken breasts I boiled on the stove for 30 minutes and then chopped up.  I used 2, but I would recommend using more like 4 if you want to make sure there's chicken in every bite.

I placed panko bread crumbs on top and sprinkled some grated parmesan on top of that. This would also be a good place to throw on some poppy seeds if you want some.

I also sliced some squash and mixed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I placed it into a casserole dish to go into the oven with the chicken casserole.

I baked both the casserole and the squash in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  The casserole should be bubbly when you go to take it out.

Here's the finished product.

 It was delicious!  It had incredible flavor.  I think it could've used a bit more salt, but this was my first time making this, so I didn't want to over do it.  You can't remove salt after you've added it.  You can serve this over brown rice or add some other veggies to your plate if you'd like.  

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                                                                   Happy Healthy Eating!