Loaded Chicken & Potato Casserole | PALEO, Whole30

Loaded Chicken & Potato Casserole | PALEO, Whole30

from justjessieb.com
6 servings

You all know by now that comfort food is the name of my game.  I have always been a “good eater” and have gotten so much joy out of food.     But when my metabolism basically hit the breaks in high school, I realized that as much as I loved to indulge, I had to get control of my over-eating.  At first, for me, this meant denying myself of all things delicious and cutting my calories to an extreme deficit (plus over-exercising, and just overall obsessing about anything I put in my mouth).       Talk about an unhealthy turn of events.  I went from an over-eater to an under-eater, and food & weight loss took over my thoughts and well-being.   Fast forward a few years and some yo-yoing later, to when I found the Paleo style of eating.  It was just such a relief to finally realize that I could eat to satisfaction while maintaining my weight- just by keeping my diet clean and free of the foods that didn’t agree with my body.     Food could be used to maintain weight- but also to fuel me with energy for my daily life and provide me […]

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast (cut into 1" cubes)
  • 2-3 cups broccoli florets (chopped)
  • 1/2 white onion (sliced then roughly chopped)
  • 5-6 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
  • 1 lb gold potatoes (cut into 1" cubes)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil or avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp compliant hot sauce
  • 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp Italian or herb blend
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 6 slices bacon (double check ingredients for Whole30)
  • 1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
  • "Spicy Cream Sauce" (recipe linked below)

Directions

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

  2. 2

    In a large bowl, mix the sauce ingredients until well combined.

  3. 3

    Add the potatoes and white onion to the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking dish.  Drizzle with about 1/2 of your sauce, stir to combine, then transfer to the oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

  4. 4

    Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a pan and set aside on paper towels to drain.

  5. 5

    Using the rendered bacon fat, brown the chicken cubes over medium high heat (don't worry about cooking it through).  Add the browned chicken to the large bowl with the remaining sauce.  Add the broccoli, garlic, and half of the green onions, and stir to coat.

  6. 6

    Once the potatoes are done, pour the chicken and broccoli mixture over top.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the broccoli is lightly browned and chicken is cooked through.

  7. 7

    Top the casserole with crumbled bacon and the remaining half of green onions.  Drizzle with "Spicy Cream Sauce", or a compliant ranch dressing.  Serve hot!