$0.90 per serving ~ Cheesy Sausage and Penne

Julia had a very rough day... I needed comfort food.

Cheesy Sausage and Penne ~ $0.90 per serving
1 box whole wheat penne ($1.00)
1/4 cup butter ($0.25)
1/3 cup flour ($0.05)
salt
Italian seasonings
pepper
garlic powder
3 cups milk ($0.60)
2 cups shredded Italian-style cheese ($2.80)
1/2 cup grated cheese ($0.50)
16 oz. smoked turkey sausage, sliced ($2.00)
3 cups steamed broccoli florets (free ~ leftover from Saturday's party!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Steam broccoli.
2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings to taste. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in milk. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir in Italian cheese and 1/4 cup grated cheese until melted.
3. Gently stir pasta, sausage, and broccoli into cheese sauce. Pour into large backing dish. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and extra pepper ifdesired. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.
Makes 8 servings

The Verdict
I played with this recipe tonight... I've made it before, but without the veggies added into the baking dish. That was an experiment. I also didn't want to open another bag of shredded cheese, so I used half Italian cheese and half cheddar jack. It came out GREAT!!!! I will try this again with different vegetables, but this was a big hit. This works with any kind of pre-cooked sausage. I've made it with kielbasa as well as beef smoked sausage... so far, there are no bad choices!