Recipe: Broccoli-cheese pasta bake

Shannon Beigert

Here is a recipe for a simple comfort food that will help ease us into the approaching fall season.

Ingredients

1 box of rotini pasta (my box included 13.25 oz.)
1 crown or package of broccoli florets, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
1 Cup of whole milk or Half-and-Half
2 cups of mild cheddar cheese
One-half of a sweet onion, diced
2 Tbls of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to package instructions and drain in a colander. Place the oil in a skillet and add the diced onions and cook on medium-high heat.

Once the onions are becoming translucent, add the broccoli and lightly cook. Place the cooked vegetables in a large mixing bowl and add the cooked pasta.

Place the milk into the top of a double boiler and gently heat.  Once hot, add 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheese (hold back half a cup) and mix until the cheese melts and creates a cheese sauce. Add the nutmeg.

(Alternatively, if you don't have a double boiler, you could slowly warm the milk, then the milk and cheese, in your microwave oven, stirring it every minute or so, until the cheese melts into a sauce.)

Pour the cheese sauce into the mixing bowl. Add black pepper. Combine all ingredients.

Transfer the contents to a lightly greased baking pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked and bubbly—maybe even crispy on top!

Enjoy!

Shannon Beigert is a chef and baker who loves to entertain guests at her Olympia home. If you want to let her know that this recipe worked well for you, send her a note at shannon@theJOLTnews.com