Baked Pasta with Ham and Broccoli

I also made this when Ali was here. It was super tasty and a hit. I served it with the Tomato-Basil Soup. I actually doubled this recipe when I made it.

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Salt & Pepper
• 8 oz pasta (I used the swirls, the original recipe calls for penne, use your favorite)
• 2 cups chopped broccoli
• 5 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup panko (or other course bread crumbs)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups low fat milk (recipe says at room temperature, but mine was right out the fridge)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  
• 4 Oz Ham, cut into strips (I used sliced ham from the deli)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F, grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil (mine wasn't salted) Add pasta and cook for 7 minutes. Add broccoli; cook until broccoli is tender, 3-4 minutes longer. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again (I didn't rinse or do the second draining) Pour into casserole.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Remove 1 Tbs from pan and drizzle over panko in a small bowl.
4. Add flour to saucepan, and whisk until smooth and bubbling, 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Add paprika and nutmeg, season with salt & pepper. Stir until sauce begins to boil, about 8 minutes. (make sure to continuously stir so the bottom doesn't burn) Remove from heat.
5. Stir 1 1/2 cups Cheddar and all of the Gruyere and Parmesan into sauce until smooth. Stir in ham.
6. Stir sauce into pasta mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar and reserved panko. Bake until top browns and sauce bubbles, about 30 minutes.
   

Per Serving:

623 Calories
63g Fat (20g Sat.)
107 mg Chol
3g Fiber
30g Protein
45g Carbs
860 mg Sodium

Original Recipe from: All You Magazine, Issue 12, December 18, 2009