Goat Cheese Mac n' Cheese with Chicken

In my opinion, cheese is by far the greatest food.  I discovered goat cheese in college and the first time I tried it I thought to myself, "Why on earth have I not been eating this every day?!"  It's one of my favorites and I like it both hot and cold, on practically anything-pizza, pasta, salad, you name it.  When I was scrolling through Pinterest I saw a mac n'cheese with goat cheese and knew that I had to try it.  It's also pretty easy and a good weeknight dinner since it doesn't take much time.

This recipe has it with roasted chicken, which I did take advantage of because we always have tons of chicken and I had time on my hands.  But it would be super easy to omit the chicken.  I ended up making the chicken the same day because, like I said, I had time.  Being in between jobs let's me experiment more in the kitchen, which is definitely a plus.  Also, roasting chicken takes much longer than cooking it in a pan, so you can easily do it that way, too.  Whatever works for you.  Leftover chicken?  Throw it on in there.

I kind of did my own thing with the chicken since the recipe I used just called for shredded roast chicken.  The other main ingredient was rosemary, so I threw that in with the chicken knowing it would compliment the pasta well.  Original Recipe is here, definitely check it out!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 pound rigatoni

1 qt heavy cream

3 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz goat cheese

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.  In a baking dish, add the chicken and oil.  Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp of the rosemary.
2. Roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes, depending on thickness of the breasts.
3. After the chicken is done, set to cool on the side and bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add rigatoni and follow the directions on the package for cooking times.
4. In a large sauce pot, pour the cream in and heat over medium heat.  Add the rosemary and garlic, bring to a simmer and allow the cream to reduce by half.  This step is necessary, I got anxious and didn't let it reduce enough and it came out a little runnier than I would have liked.
5. Stir in the goat cheese and chicken (shredded at this point, or cubed).  Continue cooking until the cream coats the spoon.
6. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce.  Mix well and serve hot.  Enjoy!

I know my picture isn't all that pretty, but I couldn't wait to dive in and eat it.  The smell was amazing!