Sometimes in life you just need to eat a big bowl of comfort. Amirite? Or amirite?

Even though it’s warming up a bit this week, the Northeast lately has generally been fucking cold. The boyfriend and I hadn't realized until recently that our crappy old radiator in the living room had been essentially OFF for the past two winters. Oops. So until we came to our senses a few weekends ago, I had been serving us terribly comfy and warming dinners while we plunged into another weekend “Wire” binge-a-thon.

This was one of those meals. I mean, what’s more comforting than what’s essentially a heaping bowl of thickened heavy cream? Listen, there are vegetables and lots of protein in there so it’s decidedly virtuous. Especially more so than a bowl of cheese sauce and noodles. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against macaroni and cheese. I am the damn queen of macaroni and cheese. I am known for my macaroni and cheese. But on a regular old weekday or weekend night, I feel better about digging my frostbitten fingers into lots of vegetables with cheese sauce rather than cheese covered carbs.

P.s. Don’t let that unassuming yellow hued iPhone photo dissuade you from making this exceptionally cozy dish. It’ll warm you right up.

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Broccoli Cauli-Rice Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts with skin and bone (or about 2 cups cooked chicken)

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 head broccoli

1 head cauliflower

1 ½ cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup shredded parmesan

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese for sprinkling the top

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Roast chicken breasts in oven seasoned well with salt and pepper and drizzled in olive oil until cooked through and golden brown. About 40 to 45 minutes. ***(Or just use leftover cooked chicken, about 2 cups OR no need to use chicken at all! I used chicken to bulk this up to a main, you can leave the chicken out and serve as a side!)

Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.

Cut your broccoli into smallish florets and “rice” cauliflower in a food processor or using a box grater until you have approximately 2 cups worth.

Spread half the pan with the riced cauliflower and the other half of the pan with the broccoli, drizzle vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Throw into the oven with the chicken for about the last 20 minutes of the chicken’s cook time.

While chicken and vegetables are roasting, get cream reducing down in a small sauce pan over a medium to low heat. Season cream with salt, pepper and mustard and stir continuously. Using a whisk is best. Keep cream at a simmer, try to keep it from boiling. It will take about 15 minutes to start to thicken a bit. Once it’s pretty hot and starting to get thick, add in the shredded cheeses. Whisk cheeses into hot cream until they've melted into a creamy thick cheese sauce. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat.

Remove chicken and vegetables from oven once done. Chicken should be a light golden brown and cooked through. Vegetables should be starting to get caramelized.

Lower oven heat to 350 degrees.

After removing the bones, shred the cooked chicken into bite size pieces and add to ovenproof casserole dish. To the chicken, add roasted broccoli florets and about 2 cups of the riced roasted cauliflower. Give this a good stir to distribute the chicken and veggies evenly. Pour the cheese sauce over the chicken and vegetables and stir again to distribute cheese sauce evenly. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup of shredded cheddar over the top of the casserole.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is a delightful golden brown.

Serves 6

(Reheats and freezes well)