Mac & Cheese with Roasted Broccoli

Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese is a crowd pleaser, and kid approved! A classic (but super-lightened-up) béchamel-inspired cheese sauce coats delicious corkscrew-shaped pasta and broccoli florets. Topped with a buttery layer of breadcrumbs and baked to cheesy perfection, this is total comfort food.

Ingreadient:

• 12 oz pasta, measured dry, I used corkscrew shape
• 4 cups broccoli florets, fresh
• 2 tbsp light butter, divided
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups Kraft fat free cheddar
• 4 slices Velveeta American cheese
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Direction

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Melt 1 tbsp of the light butter in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add the 2 tbsp of flour, and whisk. The flour and butter will mix and form clumps.
4. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the milk, whisking as you pour it in.
6. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking often to break down the clumps.
7. Cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens significantly.
8. Add the seasonings, stir to combine.
9. Chop the American cheese slices into small pieces. Measure out 2 cups of the fat free cheddar.
10. Add both cheeses to the mixture, whisking to help break them down and melt.
11. Stir until all of the cheese has melted, then set aside until the pasta is done.
12. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (This should be done simultaneously as the sauce is cooking so that they finish at the same time).
13. Add the pasta; cook for 2 minutes less than the package directions advise. (For the corkscrew pasta I used, it recommended 11 minutes. So the total cook time for my pasta was 9 minutes).
14. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized florets.
15. During the last two minutes of cooking, (in my example, 7 minutes in) add the broccoli florets to the water.
16. If using frozen broccoli, it does not need to boil. Just defrost the florets and add them to the dish.
17. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked pasta and broccoli from the pot and add them to the cheese sauce.
18. Stir thoroughly so that all ingredients are well mixed.
19. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, and then pour the mac and cheese in. Smooth out the top.
20. Add the remaining butter to a small bowl and melt it.
21. Stir in the breadcrumbs. The mixture will resemble wet sand.
22. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the casserole dish and then pop it in the oven.
23. Cook for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.