Chicken Pom Poms

My friend, Vanessa, came over last night and we made these for dinner. She used to eat them when she was little and wanted to start making them again. Her mom got the recipe out of the NY Times. Clayton and Noah both liked them. They kept calling them cookies because of the way they look (hey, anything to get them to eat healthy)! It looks kind of overwhelming when you look at the long list of ingredients, but I bet you probably have most of these already at your house and, truthfully, it didn't take that long to make (the prep time was probably about 30 min. - which is how long most meals take anyway)!

Chicken Pom Poms
(makes 4 servings - 2 pom poms each)

Ingredients
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tbsp butter or margarine
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp black ground pepper
3/4 cup milk
3 chicken bouillon cubes or 3 tsp granules
1 1/2 cups cooked rice, cooled
1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup chicken gravy

Directions:
1. Cook celery and onion in butter until soft but not brown. Blend in flour, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Add milk and bouillon. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and thickened. Chill.
2. Mix sauce with rice, chicken, and cheese. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Form into 8 balls (1/3 cup each). Roll in combined breadcrumbs and paprika. Place in buttered shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with chicken gravy.

Basically, you make the broth in #1 and let it chill. While it's chilling, put the chicken, rice, and cheese in a large bowl. Once the broth has chilled a little, dump it over the chicken/rice/cheese mixture and mix it all together. It will be sticky and will be able to be molded nicely. Once you've rolled a ball, roll it in breadcrumbs to cover it. When they're all done, cook 'em! Once they're done pour the gravy over top. They are pretty hot inside (Noah learned that the hard way), so be careful. It was such a delicious meal! I totally recommend this meal! We will be eating it often!