Food for Friday...

I am a recipe collector. My best recipes from friends and family are kept in this cookbook. There are recipes that have been passed down to me like Mimi's Caesar Salad Dressing, and Mom's special recipe for a pie crust. I have Nana's Corn Souffle, and of course Nana's Buckeyes. I have recipes that my sister has given me like The Very Best Onion Dip, and Hot Brown Soup. Many recipes are from friends who happen to be really great cooks. Like I said, the best of the best recipes are in this book.

As much as I like to cook, I'm not really an adventurous cook. I really only make dishes that I know are to be good, ones that have been passed onto me from someone else. My mom on the other hand is known for just "throwing things together". She is creative with her cooking and knows what needs to be added or substituted. My sister is the kind of cook that is willing to try a new recipe every week. I'm just not that brave when it comes to new recipes. I guess I owe a BIG thank-you to all the cooks in my life who have so graciously shared their recipes with me. I haven't come across any of those kind of cooks. You know, the ones that when you ask for the recipe the say, "It's a family recipe that I just can't share." Whatever.

Some of my most favorite recipes have come from cookbooks that I'm not at all afraid to try. How could you possibly go wrong with Paula Deen or Southern Living?

Food for Friday is my way of sharing with you my favorite recipes. I'm not one of those cooks. If someone has been kind enough to share it with me, I want to pass it on. These will all be recipes that I've made and are a family hit. I hope you find them as delicious as we do!

My first shared recipe is the one and only Poppyseed Chicken. For all you "southerners", I'm sure you are well acquainted with this dish. It's comfort food at it's best. Enjoy!!!

POPPYSEED CHICKEN~

6-8 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

8 oz. cream cheese

50 Ritz crackers ( 1 sleeve)

2 T. poppy seeds

1 stick melted butter

Place chicken in casserole dish. In saucepan, combine cream cheese and soup. Melt and pour over chicken. Crush crackers and add poppy seeds. Pour better on top of crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sorry I don't have a picture of this dish. We had it for dinner (at 9:00 PM!) one night this week and we were so hungry that there wasn't time to get a picture!

* Here is a time-saving tip for you.... I plan my meals a couple weeks at a time. I have done it for up to a month at a time. I will spend a couple of hours cooking all the chicken and hamburger I will need for upcoming dinners. I then place it into a labeled freezer bag according to the recipe I will need it for. It is then put into the freezer for when I will need it. That way, when I'm ready to prepare that particular recipe, all I have to do is pull the cooked meat out of the freezer and let it thaw. No need to waste time cooking the meat. This saves SO much time and I've found that I don't dread making dinner as much. It's time on the front side but really worth it.

So, when I made Poppyseed Chicken all I had to do was pull out my already cooked and shredded chicken, let it thaw and it was ready to go!

I also shred chicken (instead of dicing it) because I think it makes it go a little farther. Maybe I just have myself convinced it does, I don't know.

Have a great weekend!