Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Mac and Cheese with Ham and Broccoli

Not the greatest picture - and it isn't fancy, but honestly, this was fairly easy and pretty tasty!!

I asked George to try and make it...I think he was a little intimidated by making the white sauce. We'll have to build up to that. :)

Mac and Cheese with Ham and Broccoli

Ingredients: 4 quarts water
2 cups uncooked rotini (about 8 ounces corkscrew pasta)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) cubed light processed cheese (such as Velveeta Light)
1 teaspoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped reduced-fat ham
Preparation Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add pasta; cook 5 minutes. Add broccoli; cook an additional 5 minutes or until pasta is done; drain. While pasta cooks, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a medium saucepan; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and next 4 ingredients (cheese through pepper). Combine pasta mixture, cheese sauce, and ham.

Yield6 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

Nutritional InformationCALORIES 288(15% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 2.5g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.4g); IRON 2.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 296mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.6g; SODIUM 937mg; PROTEIN 19.1g; FIBER 2.6g