Ingredients

• 1 pound macaroni pasta

• 4 tablespoons salted butter

• ¼ cup all purpose flour

• 2 cups milk

• 2 heaping cups shredded cheese (cheddar cheese blend)

• 2 heaping cups fresh cut broccoli florets

• 12 ounces precooked sausage, sliced in half inch pieces

Steps

1. Place a large pot of water on the stove, turn the heat on high, and cover with a lid to boil

2. Add a half stick of butter to a separate saucepan and turn the heat on medium low to allow the butter to melt

3. Remove the lid from the pot of boiling water and add 1 pound of your favorite pasta shape

4. Allow the pasta to cook completely according to the packaging directions and stir the pasta periodically to make sure it doesn’t stick

5. Add a quarter cup of flour to the melted butter and whisk the flour with the butter until thoroughly combined

6. Gradually pour in 2 cups of milk to the roux, whisking constantly the entire time

7. Continue to whisk the milk with the roux over medium heat until the sauce thickens and begins to bubble

8. With 4 minutes left of the pasta cooking time, add 2 cups of fresh cut broccoli florets

9. Stir the broccoli with the pasta to ensure that everything is fully submerged

10. Once the milk, flour, and butter sauce has thickened, season with some paprika to taste and whisk to combine

11. Add two cups of shredded cheese to the sauce, whisking until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated

12. Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli and return back to the large pot

13. Pour the prepared cheese sauce over the drained pasta and broccoli

14. Add in all the chopped sausage

15. Then stir to coat all the pasta, broccoli, and sauce in the cheese sauce

16. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to a 9 by 13 inch baking dish

17. Spread the pasta smooth across the top of the dish

18. Bake the macaroni and cheese in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

19. Remove the baked macaroni and cheese from the oven and enjoy!

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