Baked Broccoli Mac And Cheese Food

BAKED BROCCOLI MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Melt 1 tbsp of the light butter in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat.
• Add the 2 tbsp of flour, and whisk. The flour and butter will mix and form clumps.
• Cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the milk, whisking as you pour it in.
• Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking often to break down the clumps.
• Cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens significantly.
• Add the seasonings, stir to combine.
• Chop the American cheese slices into small pieces. Measure out 2 cups of the fat free cheddar.
• Add both cheeses to the mixture, whisking to help break them down and melt.
• Stir until all of the cheese has melted, then set aside until the pasta is done.
• 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).
• 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).
• Chop the broccoli into bite-sized florets.
• During the last two minutes of cooking, (in my example, 7 minutes in) add the broccoli florets to the water.
• If using frozen broccoli, it does not need to boil. Just defrost the florets and add them to the dish.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked pasta and broccoli from the pot and add them to the cheese sauce.
• Stir thoroughly so that all ingredients are well mixed.
• Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, and then pour the mac and cheese in. Smooth out the top.
• Add the remaining butter to a small bowl and melt it.
• Stir in the breadcrumbs. The mixture will resemble wet sand.
• Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the casserole dish and then pop it in the oven.
• Cook for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE W/ BROCCOLI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a shallow 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water according to package directions, adding broccoli to water 3 minutes before pasta will be done; drain pasta and broccoli and return to pot.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until light golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer crumbs to a small bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and set aside.
• In same saucepan (wipe clean if necessary), whisk together milk and flour until blended; add onion. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and whisk in cheddar cheese, mustard, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Pour over cooked, drained pasta and broccoli; toss to mix and coat.
• Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle top evenly with bread crumbs. Bake until bubbly at edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Divide into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving. (5 WW Points/ serving).

BROCCOLI CHEESE MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a baking dish.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the macaroni according to the package instructions until still firm. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the celery, broccoli and onion and cook, stirring, until the vegetables soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to mash some of the broccoli. Sprinkle on the flour and dry mustard and stir to coat the vegetables. Pour in the milk, broth and half-and-half and cook, stirring, to allow it to warm up.
• Add the Cheddar, processed cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and some salt and pepper and stir to melt the cheese. Add the macaroni and stir. Taste and check for seasoning. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Combine the breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan in a small bowl and sprinkle over the dish. Bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN BAKED MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over Medium/High heat. Add chicken to the pan and saute until done, seasoning with salt and pepper if preferred.
• If broccoli florets are not already cooked and chopped, do this now. You can buy frozen chopped broccoli to save time.
• Add chicken and broccoli to the already cooked macaroni pasta. Toss to make sure it is well mixed.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cheddar cheese soup, evaporated milk, sour cream, milk, Parmesan and seasoned salt. Add the butter after everything else is mixed.
• Cover with plastic wrap and cut a few slits in the top to vent.
• Microwave for 4 minutes to melt butter and heat the rest of the soup mixture. Make sure butter is melted when finished. If not, stir and microwave for another minute or two.
• To assemble the macaroni, layer 1/2 of the macaroni/chicken/broccoli mixture in the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 glass baking dish. Top with half of the cheese soup mixture. Top with half of the shredded cheese.
• Repeat all three layers one more time.
• Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese on top is melted. If the top is already browned, skip the next step.
• Turn oven to BROIL and allow macaroni to remain in the oven for 5 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned. You may even want to keep the oven door open a crack to watch the top and make sure it doesn't burn.
• You can make this a day or two ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Just remove it from the fridge about 45 minutes before baking so it comes up to room temperature and cooks evenly.

CHEESY BROCCOLI PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta, adding the broccoli for the final 4-5 mins and cooking until tender. Drain well, then heat the grill.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 min, then gradually add the milk, stirring well between each addition. Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer for 2 mins, before stirring in the mustard, half the cheese and seasoning.
• Mix the pasta and broccoli into the sauce and spoon into an ovenproof dish. Scatter over the remaining cheese and place under a hot grill for 3-4 mins until golden and bubbling.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BROCCOLI

Steps:

• Bring large pot of salted water to boil for pasta and broccoli. Cook pasta and broccoli together, according to package directions for al dente, and drain.
• Make bread crumb topping:.
• In small bowl mix together bread crumbs and 1 tbs. olive oil. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
• While pasta cooks, heat a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add 2 tbs. olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute. Add 4 tbs. butter and melt, then add flour. Whisk until roux bubbles, then cook for 1 more minute.
• Whisk in milk, stock, ground mustard and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer sauce stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat add cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until cheese melts.
• Add drained pasta and broccoli to cheese sauce, mix well to combine. Transfer to baking dish. Top with bread crumb topping and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

MACARONI & CHEESE BROCCOLI BAKE

Steps:

• Boil about 2 quarts of salted water in a pot, and cook the macaroni for 4 minutes. Add the frozen broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes.
• If you're like me and get absentminded of what's in your freezer and how long it's been in there thus your broccoli is REALLY freezer-burnt, throw it in the pot when you put the macaroni inches Make sure it's a big enough pot.
• When they're all done cooking, remove and drain the macaroni and broccoli. Put them into a 2.5-quart baking dish, mixing well.
• Pour the milk into the pot and let it come to a low boil. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• While waiting for the milk to heat up, combine the sour cream, tablespoon of milk, flour, and spices in another bowl to make a paste.
• Add this paste to the boiled milk, and stir thoroughly.
• When the mixture becomes thick, add 3/4 cup of cheese and it should melt on impact. Stir again to fully incorporate the cheese.
• Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and broccoli, blending well. Top evenly with the 1 1/4 cups cheese.
• For the panko topping, melt the butter in a frying pan or saucepan and toss with the panko flakes until nice and toasty. Put over the cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes.