My newest casserole... with asparagus (of course!)

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With the abundance of asparagus we have, I've been trying to incorporate some of that yummy green vegetable into nearly every meal!

I think one of my main tips for maintaining an affordable food budget is simply to use what you have or can get cheaply. Whether that's the leftovers in your fridge, the dried beans you bought a year ago and tossed in the back of your cupboard, or the fresh food from yours or someone else's garden (with their permission of course!!). :)

This Poppy Seed Chicken and Asparagus [0] casserole is a recipe I kinda-sorta created this spring. Both Joshua and I love it and are definitely adding it to our regular asparagus menu. ;)

I started with this recipe from Monica's blog for poppy seed chicken [1]. Monica based her poppy seed chicken on another recipe, but changed it slightly to make it healthier.

The original recipe called for lots of sour cream, canned cream of chicken soup, some cooked chicken, butter, and Ritz snack crackers. Now, I am not the most healthiest cook in blog-land, but even I can't in good conscience serve my family cream of chicken soup, butter, Ritz crackers, sour cream, and chicken for dinner.

I liked Monica's alterations, and so I used homemade cream of chicken soup and layered rice on the bottom of the casserole. I tried it with and without the Ritz crackers, and preferred it without. I cut down the sour cream even more, and added some asparagus.

It passed Joshua's taste test for casseroles (why is it that casseroles get such a bad rap?!) and I hope you like it [1] too! :D