Oct. 2nd/ Broccoli Mac and Cheese!

Alright, today is October 2nd and I have had successful day of being a vegetarian. After much thought I have decided to be a Lacto- Ovo Vegetarian, which means that I can eat dairy and eggs. When i was thinking about it what vegetarian form I should be a lot of questions popped in my head and then i thought about what would be easiest and how would I be able to succeed. Although I don't drink milk I still consume a lot of cheese so I didn't think i could give that up and the same goes for eggs. Plus eggs have protein and we all know that us humans need protein! Anyway, today's recipe is broccoli mac and cheese! Although I found this recipe on my favorite website... Pinterest. It was posted by a wonderful lady. Her blog is called Budget Bytes and has a lot of cool things on it! Tomorrow I have another recipe picked out from her blog!

Broccoli Mac and Cheese!

Ingredients-
8 oz pasta
1 large crown broccoli
1/2 med. onion
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
2 1/2 cups milk
8 oz (2 cups) sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated parm. Cheese
Dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions-
 

1. Get a large pot of salted water on to boil. Rinse the broccoli well and cut it into small florets.
2. The pasta and broccoli will be cooked in the same pot to save on dishes and time. When the water comes to a full boil, add the pasta. Set a timer for 8 minutes then add the broccoli. Cook the pasta and broccoli for two minutes more and then pour everything into a colander to drain. Set them aside until ready to add to the cheese sauce.
3. While the pasta and broccoli are doing their thing, you can begin the cheese sauce. Finely dice the onion and cook with butter over medium heat until softened (about 2-3 minutes).
4. Add the flour to the butter and onion. The flour and butter will form a paste like mixture (roux). Using a whisk, stir and cook the roux for 1-2 minutes more taking care not to let it scorch. This slightly cooks the flour preventing the cheese sauce from having an overly flour or paste like flavor.
5. Add the milk and whisk well to dissolve all of the flour clumps. Add freshly cracked black pepper at this point. Bring the mixture up to a simmer (you may need to raise the heat just slightly). When the sauce reaches a simmer, it will begin to thicken. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s time to add the cheese.
6. Turn the burner off and whisk in the shredded cheese (and parmesan if using) until it is fully melted in. Give the cheese sauce a taste and add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.
7. Once you have the cheese sauce seasoned to your liking, stir in the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli. 

Sorry about the pictures guys... I kind of forgot until last minute to take pictures! After I made this I ate about 2 bowls of it! Then I needed a nap I was so full! haha! I didn't think I would like it as much as I did and I'm glad my roommate was home to eat some of it as well! I do have left overs but I'm a little worried about reheating it. I'm afraid that the cheese sauce might curdle.  I guess that is something I have to try!

Today I also bought some vegetarian products. I've had Boca before and really liked it! I highly recommend getting Boca burgers if you are trying this. They are easy to make and taste good! As for Morning Sat I really have only had their "Chicken" nuggets which are very good. I'll tell you guys how these burgers are! As always feel free to try everything and please if you do take pictures and post!

Well thats all for now,
Lil' Char