Meaty Mac And Cheese

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• salt
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 4 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 lb cubed ham (or boneless ham steaks, cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 tablespoons milk, plus 1 cup
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Recipe

• 1 bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. add the pasta, and boil until the noodles have 5 minutes left to cook according to package directions. add the broccoli and ham; continue cooking until the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender. drain.
• 2 while the pasta cooks, make the sauce: combine 2 tbsp milk with the flour and whisk in the remaining 1 cup milk, stirring constantly. continue stirring until the sauce is the consistency of heavy cream, 2 to 3 minutes. remove from heat, and stir in the cheese until the sauce is smooth again.
• 3 toss the pasta mixture with the sauce, and serve. (to reheat, add a little milk to loosen the sauce.).
• 4 optional topping: transfer the macaroni and cheese to a baking dish coated with cooking spray. combine 2 tbsp melted butter with 1/3 cup bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese. sprinkle the mixture on the pasta. bake at 450 degrees until the topping is golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
• 5 you can also replace the ham with chicken or swap the broccoli with peas or you can just leave it plain.