Sausage and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
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
Place a large pot of water on the stove, turn the heat on high, and cover with a lid to boil
Add a half stick of butter to a separate saucepan and turn the heat on medium low to allow the butter to melt
Remove the lid from the pot of boiling water and add 1 pound of your favorite pasta shape
Allow the pasta to cook completely according to the packaging directions and stir the pasta periodically to make sure it doesn’t stick
Add a quarter cup of flour to the melted butter and whisk the flour with the butter until thoroughly combined
Gradually pour in 2 cups of milk to the roux, whisking constantly the entire time
Continue to whisk the milk with the roux over medium heat until the sauce thickens and begins to bubble
With 4 minutes left of the pasta cooking time, add 2 cups of fresh cut broccoli florets
Stir the broccoli with the pasta to ensure that everything is fully submerged
Once the milk, flour, and butter sauce has thickened, season with some paprika to taste and whisk to combine
Add two cups of shredded cheese to the sauce, whisking until the cheese is completely melted and incorporated
Drain the cooked pasta and broccoli and return back to the large pot
Pour the prepared cheese sauce over the drained pasta and broccoli
Add in all the chopped sausage
Then stir to coat all the pasta, broccoli, and sauce in the cheese sauce
Transfer the macaroni and cheese to a 9 by 13 inch baking dish
Spread the pasta smooth across the top of the dish
Bake the macaroni and cheese in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes
Remove the baked macaroni and cheese from the oven and enjoy!