Cheesy broccoli pasta bake

I had broccoli to use up, so this is what I made!

Half a head of broccoli
Handful of wholewheat pasta
Large knob of butter (about 1cm by 3cm by 4cm)
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Milk
Parmesan and cheddar to taste
Parsley breadcrumbs (I froze what I had leftover from my herby crust salmon earlier in the month - just finely crumbed bread with salt, pepper and parsley)
Small onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. I boiled the pasta in a large pan and and mid-way through cooking I added the broccoli, which I'd chopped into small florets
2. Make a cheese sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and mustard powder to form a paste, slowly adding milk until it's the right consistency (thick and smooth) and then adding grated cheese in. At the end I added the onion - that's why it's important it's finely chopped, it doesn't get much heat exposure!
3. Then I added the sauce to the drained pasta and broccoli, gave it a good stir, popped the majority of it into a small pie dish (seriously, how cute?!) and ate the rest out of the pan like the greedy pig I am.
4. I sprinkled a layer of breadcrumbs on top and popped it in the oven at 180 degrees (fan) for 15 minutes

Serve it up with some clean and springy leaves. I was impressed how tasty this was given how few ingredients there were, and at least now there's broccoli in my tum and not going beige in the fridge! I don't know how but broccoli always tastes nicer when it's been baked a while!

Diet Pasta

I tried a new recipe last night - pasta with a low fat sauce and soooo easy to make. I didn't take any pics of it but will add one next time I make it - I'm sure to do it again soon because it was so easy and tasty!

What you need:

Spaghetti (enough for one person - I used a stick with a hole in it that tells you how much you need - thanks Jamie Oliver!)
2 rashers of smoked back bacon
Half a head of broccoli
100ml reduced fat crème fraiche
1 dessert spoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

To make it:

1. Put the pasta on to boil in some salted water
2. Chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces - about 2cm square
3. Chop the bacon into strips - I cut it lengthways then slice off 1cm wide pieces
4. Fry the bacon in a pan with no oil, just till it looks cooked but not crispy
5. Add the broccoli and fry until it's absorbed all of the bacon fat and moisture out of the pan
6. Add some olive oil to the pan and keep on frying
7. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat from the bacon and broccoli, drain the pasta, but dribble about a tablespoon of the cooking water into the bacon and broccoli pan
8. Add the creme fraiche to the bacon and broccoli pan, and stir until it comes together with the water from the pasta
9. Add in the pasta, stir until completely mixed, season with a little salt and pepper
10. You're done!

It comes out really tasty, and doesn't taste "diet" - and comes to less than 600 calories for a really filling meal.