Baked Ziti with Broccoli and Sausage

Pasta is one dish my kids will all eat however, I get tired of plain old pasta and marinara sauce. I found a great recipe in my Eat WEll, Save Big Cookbook that I was pretty sure would be a crowd pleaser.  I figured, at worst, the 2 that don't like broccoli could pick it out.  It came out better than I expected it to and it will be something that makes a return to our dinner table. 

Enjoy!



Ingredients:
Salt and pepper
8 oz. hot Italian sausage, casings removed (I used sweet sausage because that is what my family likes)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 cups milk
8 oz ziti
1 1/2 lb. broccoli, stems removed, florets cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.   Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 11x7 baking dish.

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, cook sausage stirring to break up meat, about 3 minutes or until no longer pink.  Add butter and stir well.

Sprinkle flour on top and sitr for 1 to 2 minutes.  Slowly pour in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened, approx. 3-4 minutes.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Add ziti to boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Then add broccoli and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain ziti and broccoli in a colander and transfer to baking dish.  Stir in sausage mixture. 

Sprinkle Parmesan on top.  Bake 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.