Chicken Cauliflower & Cheese Casserole

I don't know if y'all are like me, but my family taught me that for dinner you have a meat, a vegetable, and a starch. My husbands family taught him the same, with the addition of bread (which we DON'T do), so every night that is what we have. Which means that most of our meals are pretty boring (chicken, rice, brocolli. pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, cauliflower. pot roast, potatos, carrots., you get the idea) It is time for me to go grocery shopping so all I had at the house was boneless skinless chicken breasts and cauliflower, along with several starches. So I did a search for chicken and cauliflower and I found this. I have used southernfood.about.com before, I mean, they do have the BEST recipe for sweet potato casserole EVER...I mean, seriously, I can't go to a holiday meal at my in-laws without bringing it. Anywho...so I decided to make this casserole.

You don't need many ingredients, just:

• 1 pound boneless chicken breasts (I used about 1.5 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 1/2 tsp herbs (I used Mrs. Dash Herb Blend)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• (I added two bags of cooked Uncle Ben's Boil in the Bag Brown Rice...the only Brown Rice my husband will eat)

STEP 1: Wash chicken breasts, pat dry & cut into cubes.
STEP 2: Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat, add chicken & cook until chicken is browned and just tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. When the chicken is cooked add the cream and stir to get the goodness off the sides of the pan. *I cooked on about med-high* *I also boiled my rice during this time*

STEP 3: (While chicken is cooking) Grate your cauliflower. *This is not quite as easy as it may seem...it took me about 10 minutes!*

STEP 4: Layer the casserole. I did rice, then cauliflower, then seasonings, then chicken and cream and finally CHEESE! Mmmm! Bake at 325* for about 15 minutes.

All in all, it was pretty yummy, and definately different, which is what I was going for. I added some tabasco sauce to mine, as I LOVE hot food!

If I were to do it again though, this is what I would change:

1) I would coat the cauliflower in a teeny bit of oil in order to help it cook (It was still pretty raw)

2) I would cut my chicken into smaller pieces so that it would incorporate better

3) I would add some cream of chicken condensed soup to make it creamier and more of a casserole

Really though, it was pretty simple overall and if I am ever stuck with just chicken & cauliflower in the house I will probably make it again!

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday! - Tasty Tuesdays - Made From Scratch Tuesday - Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Totally Tasty Tuesday - Delectable Tuesday - Tuesdays at the Table