Heatlthy Mac & Cheese (really.... It has broccoli!!)

Since I'm now cooking for one, my plan is to make one pot meals that I can eat off of for a few days. I'm one of those crazies that will gladly eat soup when it's 104 degrees outside, so prepare for a lot of soup recipes.

The other day I decided to make macaroni and cheese for dinner. There are so many ways to make mac & cheese, but I am a stove top girl. I absolutely do not care for the baked stuff whatsoever. Macaroni and cheese should be creamy and comforting, and that's the consistency you get when you don't bake it. Baked, it always tastes dry and has never appealed to me.

Macaroni & Cheese (with Broccoli)
Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of pasta (I used shells, but any small cut pasta will work fine)
• 16 ounces of frozen broccoli
• 8 ounces of shredded cheddar (I used a block and grated myself)
• 2 ounces of pepper jack (I used a block and grated myself)
• 2 T of butter
• 2 T of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk 
• 1/4 t. of dry mustard
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Once at a rapid boil, salt generously and add the pasta. When pasta has three minutes left, add the broccoli. 
2. In another pot (I used my trusty dutch oven) melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to form a roux. Cook for a minute or two so that the roux doesn't taste like raw flour. Add the milk and whisk until sauce has thickened. 
3. Turn off the burner and add cheese to the sauce
4. Drain pasta/broccoli and add to cheese sauce. Stir them together and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Oh, and be careful grating all of that cheese... I grated a strip off of my finger. And it Hurts. Like. Hell.

(Please excuse my really, REALLY ugly nails. They're still recovering from the fake nails I got for the wedding)