My 100th Post! Mac & Cheese with Chicken & Broccoli

This is my 100th post on this blog. I'm really excited to get to 100 in less than a year, especially since nearly all of my posts are cooking related (I've dropped the "tales" portion of the blog because I keep track of my books on goodreads.com now). This has been a great year for me, cooking wise, and I owe it all to the blogging world.

My 100th post is a blend of a couple recipes. I had seen Mac & Cheese with Chicken & Broccoli added in on a "kid friendly" episode of 30 minute meals with Rachael Ray. Her version seemed a little bland, from the recipe, so I added some seasonings that I had seen on The Pioneer Woman website (If you can't trust that site for rich & creamy mac & cheese, I don't know where else to go!). I picked up some tasty cheeses from our new Whole Foods Market (yay!) and it just made this meal fantastic. This was delicious, and we found it very filling.

Thanks for sticking by me and reading this blog. Its been really fun and I'm looking forward to another 100 posts. Sorry about the yellow picture. You'd think I'd have this food photography down in 100 posts, wouldn't you?

Macaroni & Cheese with Chicken & Broccoli

1/2 lb whole wheat dry macaroni

12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch pieces

1 tsp grill seasoning

2 Tbs butter

1.5 Tbs AP Flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup nonfat milk (or a total of 1 cup dairy of your preference)

About 6-8 oz grated cheeses, good melting (I used 1/2 aged white cheddar, 1/2 young gouda)

1 tsp dry ground mustard

1.5 to 2 cups of broccoli florets

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used a mix of panko and italian seasoned)

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions, undercooking by a couple minutes (it will finish cooking in the oven). Meanwhile, season chicken breast with grill seasoning or seasoning salt (trust me, it tastes great with this seasoning!). Cook in 1 Tbs of butter until no longer pink. Remove from heat and add the other Tbs of butter. Add flour to melted butter and stir until a smooth roux is formed. Cook for about a minute before adding dairy all at once. Whisk very well and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Then add mustard and slowly fold in cheese until very smooth & creamy. Return chicken to the sauce and add broccoli florets. Stir well until all is incorporated, then add cooked macaroni (or add sauce mixture to drained macaroni pot, if preferred). Pour all into an 8" x 8" baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan in a small bowl, then sprinkle mixture over top of the macaroni & cheese until coated with the crispy mixture. Bake uncovered until crumbs start to brown, about 20-25 minutes.