Swiss, Chicken and Cauliflower Casserole

Yesterday was a crazy day.  There were storm warnings early in the afternoon.  Then I got a call from the trainer that she was bringing the horses back.  And I mean right now, before the weather broke.  It is winter and no one is looking for horses to buy.  She would keep them but the board bill would have to go up because there was no grass and she had to feed a lot more to keep weight on them.

Right after she left them here, the rain started.  It lasted the rest of the day and night with bursts of heavy, sideways rain.  It was also strangely warm.  Like mid-fifties warm.  It was mid-twenties warm (?) last week.

I made a wonderful casserole, which we both really enjoyed and then watched TV and went to bed.  At 10:00 the neighbor down the hill called.  Our bridge was blocked by all the debris from up the creek and the water was flowing over our bridge.  The onslaught was looking to undermine his house.

This happens about once or twice a year.  We keep our part of the stream clear, but upstream, things fall into it and are caught by our bridge.  So Lee gets in the tractor and I get into a slicker and gather tools.  This time the water took the top of our rake.  Last year ts broke the hoe.  It is very dramatic and I wish I had pictures for you, but it was too dark and we were too wet and busy for that.

Between Lee maneuvering the bucket on the tractor and me hauling logs and sticks up by hand, we managed to unblock most of the bridge.  The water still crested over it occasionally, but that was from the force and amount of water in the creek.  Nothing we could do about that.  The main thing is most of the water was now diverted down the creek and away from the neighbor's house.  I sure hope he appreciates us.  As Lee said, we won't be able to do that much longer.  He is in his twenties and presumably in better shape than us old folk, so we should just give him permission to clear away and don't call us!  But the tractor really does help.

So it is a good thing we had a delicious and warm meal the night before!  And I do mean delicious.  Usually I am ambivalent when it comes to cauliflower.  Lee loves it, though, so I make some every couple of weeks.  This was so good I will definitely make it again soon.  Plus, it was fast and easy.  Always a plus in my mind!  Oh, and low carb, too.

   
   
Swiss, Chicken and Cauliflower casserole

4 cups cooked chicken, chopped.  Buy one already cooked from the market or buy the frozen pre-cooked variety, like I did.

2 cups cauliflower flowerets
1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded.  Buy the shredded kind when you are getting the pre-cooked chicken and dinner is almost made!

3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry.  Your preference.  I used about 3/4  teaspoon.
2/3 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk


Heat the oven to 350.  Find your 2 quart casserole dish.

   

In a small bowl, mix the milk and Mayo with the curry.  I used a mini whisk to get it smooth.  Set it aside.

   

The frozen precooked chicken breast strips I had were in big chunks.  I allowed it to thaw a bit and chopped them up in to bite sizes.  Cut off any yucky parts.

   

 If you think all parts are free from yuckiness, good for you.  Saves time.  It irritates the cats and the dog that are hoping for those bits, however.  Keep chopping until you have 2 cups.  Dump those in a medium bowl.

Cut up most of the cauliflower into flowerets.  When you have 2 cups, add that to the chicken and save the rest for another day.

   

Chop up 3 or so celery stalks, the onion and add them with the garlic to the bowl.  Dump the bag of Swiss cheese shreds over the top and mix. Drizzle the sauce over the top and mix again.  That's IT.

   

Now dump, er, gently spoon the chicken mixture into the casserole dish and cook for about 50 minutes, or until bubbling nicely and the cauliflower has softened.

   

 

Serve with a salad or some fruit.  Or just eat two heaping servings like we did and still have some for the next dinner!