Easy Reuben Sandwich and Comfort Food - Poppy Seed Chicken

I don't know about you, but I LOVE a Reuben sandwich. Except, I only love it homemade, I never really seem to like it when I get one from a restaurant. (I imagine they don't put near enough cheese or dressing on it ;-) ) And they can be so messy to make. So when I was flipping through a cookbook that my Aunt Nancy got for me called "A Cookbook of Favorite Recipes compiled by staff and residents of the Greenville Convalescent Home, and ran across the recipe "Open Faced Reuben Sandwiches" I knew I had to try it. I was so glad that I did!

Open Faced Reuben Sandwiches

1 12 oz can corned beef
1 16 oz jar sauerkraut well drained
Thousand Island Dressing (it says 1/2 c., but I use however much I want to!)
1/4 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp bacon bits (I don't use)
8 slices of Swiss cheese
8 slices of Rye or whatever bread you like your Reuben on, I like just wheat bread buttered really well.

Break up the corned beef with a fork until crumbly, add sauerkraut and next 3 ingredients stirring well. Spread mixture on 8 slices of toast and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. (I don't toast my bread before I put it in the oven and it holds up great, but you do what you like).
Cut slices of swiss cheese in half and place 2 strips on each sandwich. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Sometimes I don't mix the ingredients, I just layer them how I want to and I save the thousand island for last - I pour it on top of the cheese once it's melted. But, again, it's easy to do what you think you'd like to do. I hope you enjoy!




Now, for poppy seed chicken. My kids love this stuff, and so does my company when they've driven a long way or had a long day. It's super easy to make, and you just about can't go wrong with it.

Poppy Seed Chicken

3 to 4 boiled and shredded chicken breasts
16 oz sour cream
1 can of cream of mushroom or chicken
1 roll of ritz crackers
butter
poppy seeds
rice or noodles (I always put this mixture over rice, but you can do either)

Add to the boiled and shredded chicken breasts the sour cream and cream of mushroom or chicken and stir it up well.
Crumble the ritz crackers and melt butter to pour on top of them. Spread the chicken mixture into a greased casserole dish and put the buttered and crumbled ritz crackers on top, then sprinkle about a tbsp or so of poppy seeds on top of that. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve on top of rice or noodles. Enjoy!!!