I get Cooking Light Magazine mailed to me as part of their blogger program. When I saw this recipe for Cheesy Penne with Broccoli I knew the kids would like it. And who couldn’t use another recipe for pasta?
Unlike Little D who is our little Italian, Big A didn’t always like pasta. One time about a year ago I bought the tri-colored pasta from Trader Joe’s to entice her. When I was making it I pointed out how colorful it was. That was the night she fell in love and came up with the name “rainbow pasta.” (I am well aware that it is just pasta but a new food is a new food!)
So instead of penne the recipe called for, I used rainbow pasta. I also had some cooked chicken on the side and I substituted the Dijon mustard with 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Served with a salad, this was a nice little meal.
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- 5 cups broccoli florets (about one medium head)
- 1⅓ cup milk
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 Tbsp. ⅓ less fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅔ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Cook pasta according to package directions and add broccoli during the last 3 minutes of cooking. When done, drain both pasta and broccoli and add to a large bowl.
- Combine milk and flour in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened and then remove from heat. Add 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese along with the rest of the ingredients, and mix together until smooth.
- Add cheese mixture to pasta mixture, toss. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Your site looks fabulous Maryann!! I love everything about it!
I receive cooking light magazine too and love it! I didn’t know there was a blogger program 😉
Thanks Amy! I will recommend you if you are interested. They like the bloggers to link to their site twice montly and in return have a profile of your blog on their site and provide a subscription.
Hi – I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! We made it tonight with bowtie pasta and swapped out the broccoli for cauliflower, since that is what we had on-hand. It was fun to make with my husband as a team and we really enjoyed it. Our daughter tried a few bites and my son opted out, but we know it will be offered again down the road!
Kim
I’m glad you liked it Kim. I often do that with my kids — decide to make it again assuming they will eventually like it ; ) If I waited for them to approve everything we’d have a very limited menu!
Even not having kids, this looks delicious! Will try this but will switch itout with wheat pasta! Thanks!
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Nice and yummy recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
Looks nice. Thanks for sharing.