Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

This Cooking Light recipe is an easy addition to dinner, especially if you happen to be making rice to go with dinner. I put the broccoli in the steamer basket in the top of my rice cooker, so the broccoli was ready when the rice was and all I had to do was throw together the cheese sauce.

BROCCOLI WITH CHEESE SAUCE

Recipe Notes

I added slightly more cheddar cheese than the recipe called for (probably an extra tbsp.) so my calorie count was probably slightly higher than Cooking Light's tally. Also, full-fat cheddar cheese generally melts better than reduced-fat (which is called for here). If you do decide to use full-fat cheddar cheese, it will likely just up the fat count slightly (but not appreciably, because there is not much that is used).

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 8)

69 calories - 2.3 g. fat - 6.2 g. protein - 2.5 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. all-purpouse flour
• 1 c. skim milk
• 1/2 c. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1-1/2 lb. broccoli florets (about 9 cups)

Instructions

1. Place flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat or until mixture is bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly. Cook one additional minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

2. Add cheeses, mustard, salt, pepper, and thyme, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Keep warm.

3. Steam broccoli until crisp-tender (either in a saucepan with a vegetable steamer or in the top of a rice cooker). Serve broccoli immediately with sauce.