Poppyseed Chicken

One of my room mates in college introduced this dish to me and I was left wondering where it had been all my life. I served it to my mom and she felt equally ripped off. Don't deprive yourself of this goodness. There is something about those Ritz crackers that just make me want to jump up and down or something.

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 packages ritz crackers
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, melted

Notes / Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a sauce pan, heat cream of mushroom soup and sour cream on medium heat while stirring constantly. Make sure to scrape the bottom to prevent burning. Remove from heat and add poppy seeds. Set aside. In a greased 9x13 pan, spread cooked chicken evenly. Pour cream of mushroom mixture over the chicken. You may want to stir it a little to make sure the chicken is evenly coated.

Before opening the crackers, place a hand on each end of the package and firmly and slowly smash the crackers. Pour cracker crumbs into a bowl and pour melted butter over the top. Toss around until butter is well incorporated. Sprinkle over the top of the chicken.

Cook for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients
2 small cans tomato soup
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2-4 tablespoons basil pesto
milk

Notes / Directions
Pour small cans of tomato soup into a large pot. Fill one can with milk and dump it in. Fill the can again with water and dump it in. Add crushed tomatoes and basil pesto to taste. Cook over medium heat until heated through.

Make it a dinner! Serve with dinner rolls and a rotisserie chicken. You can put the chicken in the soup or make buttered chicken sandwiches to dip into the soup.

Black Bean Soup

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cans black beans, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can crushed tomatoes 

Notes / Directions
Saute onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add seasonings and cook for additional minute. Empty vegetables into a large stock pot. Add vegetable broth, 2 cans of black beans, and corn and bring to a boil. In a blender, blend remaining 2 cans of black beans and crushed tomatoes until smooth. Add to the stock pot and reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.