Delicious Chicken Casserole

I found this Delicious Chicken Casserole on allrecipes.com, and I made it last night because it was one of the top 20 chicken casseroles. It was very good and reminded me of another recipe that I make and love... I will be making that recipe soon enough to put on here! Even my hubby liked this, the man who doesn't like sour cream (I've decided he doesn't like it plain, but he will eat it in a recipe... especially if he doesn't know it's in there). :-) I did add 2 cups of rice instead of one, and I chose to omit the butter (these were based upon recommendations of the reviews on the website). I also will next time try it a little different and make it easier and cheaper.... use canned broth instead of making your own... I will include that variation at the bottom.

Ingredients
-1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (this recommended bones in and removing them after cooking, but I say skip that and buy it without bones!)
-2 stalks celery, cut into thirds (I would leave this out next time, see variations at bottom)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp pepper
-2 cups cooked rice (only called for 1, but I used 2, and it needed it.... great use for leftover rice)
-6oz sour cream (3/4 cup)
-2 cans cream of chicken soup
-1/4 tsp celery salt (optional, I left this out and added a little extra salt instead)
-1/8 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 cups crushed buttery round crackers, crushed (like Ritz... I used a whole sleeve of them)
-1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (optional, I omitted this totally after taking the picture)Directions
-Boil the chicken, celery, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 pepper, and enough water to cover. Cover, reduce heat to medium low; simmer for 35 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup broth. Cool chicken, throw away celery, and cut into bite size pieces or shred.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together sour cream, soup, broth, celery salt, salt & pepper to taste, onion powder, garlic powder, cooked rice, & chicken. Spoon into 9x13 casserole dish. In a resealable bag, shake together crushed crackers and melted butter (skip this step if omitting butter). Sprinkle crackers over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Variations:
Ok, next time I make this, this is how I will do it.... easier and a little cheaper....

-1 lb chicken breasts
-1 cup chicken broth
-2 cups cooked rice
-6oz sour cream
-2 cans cream of chicken soup
-1/8 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-salt & pepper to taste
-2 cups crushed buttery round crackers, crushed

-Boil chicken until done, let cool, and shred or cube into large bowl. Add remaining ingredients except crackers to bowl. Mix and spoon into 9x13 casserole and top with crackers. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Tip: Easy way to crush your crackers if you don't want to dirty your food processor. Take all the crackers and put them into a resealable gallon plastic bag. Take a rolling pin and roll and mash the crackers in the bag. My mom taught me this trick. Thanks Mom! :-)

350 calories for 1/6 of the dish (this is omitting the butter)