Primal Blackened Chicken Casserole

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Primal Blackened Chicken Vegetable Casserole

by Leonard Scriven
This casserole is full of flavor and vegetables! The directions look like there’s a lot to do, but ti goes pretty quickly.  This is a spicy (if you want it to be) one-dish meal!.
Yield: 6 servings. Total Prep Time: 45 Minutes.

Ingredients

• 12 oz blackened chicken breasts, diced
• 2 T Almond flour
• 2 T butter
• 8 oz Almond milk (or skim milk)
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1 t Italian seasoning
• 1 T Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 heads, approx. 12 ounces cauliflower, chopped
• 2 yellow or orange bell peppers, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 2 heads, approx. 12 ounces broccoli florets, chopped
• 1/3 c Monterey jack cheese
• Olive oil

* Unless otherwise noted, we recommend using organic, locally grown vegetables and organic grass feed meats and dairy (Primal) ingredients. Omit dairy, especially cheese ingredients, if you are Paleo.

Directions

Blackened chicken (best in an iron skillet if you have one)
Heat your cast-iron skillet to a high temperature.
Meanwhile, create a butter & spice mixture. Melt enough butter (use a microwave-safe pie plate) to coat all the meat your making on both sides, and then a few tablespoons extra to spare. Add your favorite cajun or blackening spices to the butter and mix it up well. The blackening is caused by the butter charring in the pan, and the spices will add to the flavor.
Pat your chicken dry. This helps the butter create a sealing crust on the meat, keeping it from drying out.
Dip the meat into your melted butter and spice mixture. At this point, you can add a little extra spices to your meat, but don’t set it down, because you’ll remove the butter from the meat.
Place the meat in the pre-heated HOT cast iron skillet. Be prepared for a lot of smoke and maybe some flames.
This step is optional: Immediately after laying your meat in the skillet, spoon another tablespoon of your butter and spice mixture over the fish. Be prepared for more smoke and possible flames.
Allow the meat to cook for about 3 minutes (depends on how thick it is), then flip it over (add another tablespoon of butter if you want) and cook it for another three minutes.
Dice the chicken and set aside.
Put it all together

1.  Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Once the butter foams, add almond flour and stir for 1 minute; try not to let the mixture turn brown.
3. Add almond milk to the mixture and continue to stir until it starts to bubble.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add pepper, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Stir to combine.
6. Microwave cauliflower (covered) for 4-5 minutes until tender.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Microwave broccoli florets for 2 minutes (covered) until tender.
9. Allow broccoli and cauliflower to steam for one minute.
10. Spritz the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 oven-proof casserole dish with olive oil.
11. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower and broccoli with the chicken and chopped vegetables; cover with the sauce. Place in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the Monterey jack cheese and cover with foil.
12. Bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is melted