Crunchy Gouda Broccoli Bake

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 I’m sure that I am not alone in occasionally having the experience that while I have a lot of food on hand, I don’t seem to be able to make anything with it. I decided to get serious about creating something, and came up with a real winner. I went a little crazy buying pasta (I bought 4 boxes of cellentani, and now it would appear I have a pasta collection), had half a can of French fried onions in the pantry, a crown of broccoli threatening to go bad in the fridge, and a chunk of Gouda that was beginning to show its age. Enter the Crunchy Gouda Broccoli Bake. It is a one-pot wonder with components that are dumped into a casserole dish and baked until the cheese melts. It makes a great main dish, or tasty side. Not all of my experiments work out as well as this one did. I hope you’ll give it a try.

Crunchy Gouda Broccoli Bake

1 head broccoli, broken into florets
2 c. cellentani pasta
4 T. butter
½ onion, diced
1 t. Melissa’s minced garlic
¼ c. flour
3 c. whole milk
1 c. shredded gouda, divided
¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ t. kosher salt, or to taste
Few gratings freshly ground black pepper
French fried onions

Spray a 1½-qt. casserole with PAM; set aside.

In a medium stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking, add broccoli. Drain and place into the casserole dish; set aside.

Return the stockpot to the burner and set it to medium/low heat. Melt butter. When butter has melted, stir in onion, and cook until translucent. While you are cooking the onion, preheat oven to 350° F. Stir in garlic, cook for one minute. Stir in flour, and stir constantly for one minute. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Cook until slightly thickened, about five minutes; remove from heat. Stir in ½ c. cheese until smooth. Stir in nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over broccoli and pasta, tossing to coat. Top with remaining ½ c. cheese and French fried onions. Bake until the cheese has melted and top is golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Makes for ample main dish servings, or multiple side dishes.