Nostalgia recipe

I have always loved poppy seeds. Even as a kid, my favourite dessert in the world is rözki – a sweet roll with a layer of poppy seeds and deliciousness. I love eating recipes that have poppy seeds in them. So naturally, now that I am an adult and I am the one in charge of the food around here, I get to make whatever I want most of the time, and that means lots of poppy seeds!

That is why I want to call this recipe "Nostalgia Chicken", because the abundance of poppy seeds in it makes me remember my childhood and baking with my grandmother, my mom and my sisters. Those are the best memories!

Plus, this poppy seeded chicken sounds just incredible! I like that the recipe is so easy to put together and doesn’t have a lot of expensive ingredients (in fact, I would be willing to bet that you probably have most of them in your kitchen already). I was not completely sure what they meant by “buttery crackers” but just regular crackers should be fine (though I would imagine that using those cheddar cheese Ritz crackers would be absolutely delicious!).

I love poppy seeds for their nutrition value – poppy seeds are good sources of protein and dietary fibre, as well as some essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and magnesium. Plus, they are super yummy, even if they DO get stuck in your teeth…

Even parsley has benefits: it contains many important nutrients, is rich in antioxidants, and contains cancer-fighting components. It helps build your bones and helps protect your eyes. It has anti-bacterial properties and may be beneficial for heart health… need I go on?

For this recipe, it’s really flexible, so use any type of milk that you like (I am thinking that cashew milk would be delicious in this because it’s so creamy…), and I am definitely going to be experimenting with different types of cheese to top this with! Oh, the possibilities…

Most importantly, make this to share with people now that the world is opening back up again! Enjoy it with friends outside on the patio with some hard cider and a huge green salad! Just enjoy it.

Enjoy your life too, while you’re at it!

Slow-Cooker Poppy Seed Chicken:

· 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ lbs.)

· 2 cans (10¾-oz. each) condensed cream of chicken soup

· ¾ cup milk (use any milk you like, I’m using cashew)

· ½ cup poppy seeds

· About 36 round buttery crackers, crushed

· ¼ cup butter, melted

· Fresh parsley, for the garnish

· Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

· ½ cup gouda cheese, shredded, to top

1) Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray (5-quart size also works, but it might be tight)

2) Place the chicken in the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt and pepper

3) In a medium bowl, stir together the soup, milk and poppy seed with a whisk. Pour over the chicken. Top with shredded gouda cheese

4) Cover and cook on High heat setting 1 hour, then reduce the heat setting to Low and cook for 3 hours longer

5) In a small bowl, mix the cracker crumbs and melted butter, just until the crumbs are moistened. Sprinkle over the chicken just before serving

6) Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately