Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

I just realized that I've been giving my thoughts on my "Weekly Polls" but not sharing the stats with you so here they are for this past week:

The question was "What is your favorite kind of food?" The answers were as follows:

Answers			Votes	Percent
1.		American	2	10%
2.		Italian	5	24%
3.		Chinese	2	10%
4.		Thai	1	5%
5.		French	0	0%
6.		Indian	2	10%
7.		Mexican	5	24%
8.		Greek	1	5%
9.		German	0	0%
10.		Other (post a comment and let me know!)	3	14%

I'm a little disappointed that no one posted a comment to let me know what their favorite food is (those that chose option #10). I'm very curious to know! I'm not surprised that Mexican and Italian top the list, those seem to be favorites of many people. As for me, it's very hard to pick just one! I grew up eating a lot of Mexican food and although I do love it, I love most every other type on the list here as well plus other not listed like Soul food, Japanese food, Filipino food, Jamaican food and Hawaiian food... I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting!

The new poll is up so please vote! :)

On to the recipe......

I've been making this recipe for some time now for family at church with new babies. It's a great recipe because you can make up a double batch and because my kids love it :) This last time I snuck in some chopped broccoli and it was wonderful. An easy "heat and eat" meal!

Creamy Chicken-and-Rice Casserole

1 package chicken-flavored Rice-A-Roni (I use my Homemade Rice-A-Roni Mix)
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 1/4 c. water
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 c. veggies of your choice (optional) - I like to use broccoli but you can use mixed veggies, spinach, mushrooms, etc.
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 c. nonfat sour cream
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1/2 c. crushed multigrain crackers - or any kind of crumbs like bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes or even crushed Rice Krispies
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

Cook rice mix in a large nonstick skillet according to package directions, using 1 Tbsp. margarine and 2-1/4 cups hot water. Remove mixture from skillet; set aside. Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Coat the skillet with cooking spray, and place over high heat until hot. Add chicken, veggies, and garlic powder; saute for 6 minutes or until chicken loses its pink color. Combine rice mixture, chicken mixture, sour cream, pepper, and soup in a bowl; stir well. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Combine crumbs, margarine, and poppy seeds; stir well, and sprinkle over chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.