Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pasta

Sometimes my best dishes are the random ones I throw together based on my current favorite ingredients.  And you can be sure that that list always includes cheese and bacon! It makes me sad that I only started eating goat cheese as an adult. Think of all those wasted childhood years of not knowing the joy that is delicious goat cheese. Goats may freak me out with their scary eyes, but man they make some good cheese.

This pasta is a great cheesy dish with an added kick of the sundried tomatoes and bacon. I like to make this during the colder months because there's nothing more comforting (other than my beloved soups) than a nice creamy pasta bowl!

[Note: For most of my bacon dishes I use a thick cut turkey bacon from Trader Joe's. The texture is not so much the traditional crispiness you would get with regular turkey and instead is more like ham. I love regular bacon but will often use turkey bacon to cut back on the calories and fat. If you want to use traditional bacon, then cook it first, and let it drain on paper towels afterwards, and then once cooled crumble into the pasta at the end when you're mixing everything together. Or if you're feeling lazy like I always am, especially after coming home from work, then just cook it with the onions. And if you're looking for a vegetarian dish, just omit the bacon! I've done it before and it's still super yummy.]

Servings: 6 (which means it's a 3 mealer for me)

Ingredients:
16 oz dried pasta (I used a whole wheat penne here)
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3-4 ounces goat cheese
2-4 slices bacon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup reserved pasta water (optional)
Chives, chopped (optional topping)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to instructions. (Optional: reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water before draining for future use.)
• Cook 1 chopped onion, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp garlic, 3 oz sundried tomatoes, and 2-4 chopped slices of bacon for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are starting to brown and bacon is starting to crisp. 
• Add 1 can diced tomatoes to the onion mixture and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Drain pasta and put the pasta back into the pot along with 3-4 ounces of goat cheese. Stir until the goat cheese covers all the pasta.
• Add the onion mixture to the pasta as well as the crumbled bacon and stir all together until well mixed. If you like a saucier sauce, add about 1/4 cup pasta water (which is what I did in the photos below).
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Optional: Top each bowl with some chopped chives.

Aaaaand cue the sad begging pugs. Sunny's taught Rosy the technique of uncurling the tail to look extra sad and pathetic.

I love using fresh herbs for toppings on my dishes. Normally it's parsley but today I decided to go with chives!

The girls want some bacon and cheese! 

Sniff sniff.

Closing in...

Getting closer!

And no the girls did not get any taste - there are onions and garlic in this dish! But I did give them a little topping of cheese with their carrot snack afterwards.

Adapted from SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue.