Sour Cream Chicken

Yesterday was rainy and foggy from morning to night. Living only about 10 miles from the coast it's not unusual to see early morning fog or watch a marine layer seep through the hills as evening comes, but fog all day? That's not nearly so routine and, since I love the fog, something to be viewed as a rare treat. Add a steady rain and we have the makings of a perfectly cozy winter day.

As empty nesters, Martin and I often eat out on Saturday nights but I wanted to be home yesterday, hearing the rain fall on my patio roof and watching a blazing fire going in the fireplace. A good weather day like the one I've mentioned just can't be squandered hidden away in some artificially cheerful and busy restaurant, now can it???? I think not.

Given that we were staying indoors, I knew I wanted a homey comfort meal and this dish definitely qualifies. It's not something you'd serve the Crawleys or Granthams (yes, I'm a Downton Abbey addict and yes, I must slip in some references to this favorite show) should they decide to drop by for a bite to eat, but for me and the hubby it was a tasty addition to our quiet evening at home.

Not that all was peaceful - figuring out how to make this dish was a bit dicey. The recipe came from my BFF during a conversation wherein she told me her plans to make it yesterday and I decided to try the same dish for myself. Here's the deal about Cindy - when she talks you through a recipe over the phone she's very apt to leave out some of the steps involved; presumably because she feels what she's omitting is obvious to all but the most inept of cooks. Which would be me, apparently!

We had a similar incident Thanksgiving when she gave me a recipe for her version of sweet potatoes. Somewhere in the midst of my NUMEROUS calls trying to clarify her lack of instructions, she was heard to mournfully exclaim that she'd never give me another recipe. She repeated the same threat yesterday when I, once again, started up with the calls begging for clarification of her sketchy instructions. (Shhhh...don't tell her - some of the last calls and texts were made solely to mess with her mind a little. Cooking together can be such fun!)  I would be upset about this dire threat of no future recipe sharing if I didn't know that within a day or two, I'll be able to wheedle another recipe out of my forgiving and forgetting BFF!

Sour Cream Chicken Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter
1 pkg waverly crackers (the ones I found were actually called "club crackers")
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth (use the broth from cooking the chicken breasts)
paprika

Boil the chicken breasts, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Allow to cool and then cut into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
Break up the crackers into largish pieces. I used a little over one sleeve. Cover the bottom of a 9X13 pan with these crackers. They should liberally cover the bottom of the pan. My BFF says you can have too much chicken in this recipe but you can't have too many of the crackers.
Melt the butter and pour it over the crackers. Stir the crackers around to spread the butter through all of the cracker mixture.
Put the chicken pieces on top of the crackers.
Mix the soup, sour cream and broth together. Pour this mixture over the chicken pieces and cracker layers. Do not stir this mixture once it's in the pan. You can use a large pancake turner or spatula to spread the mixture so it is evenly spread across the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top layer begins to bubble at the edges. (Mine took longer to get a bubble.)
Before serving add some paprika for color.

(The cracker layer. I don't have a picture of the finished product and you should be glad about that. As I've hinted, this isn't a pretty dish but it does taste great.)