June has been a big month in our house. We celebrated Charlotte’s birthday, Father’s Day and Tim’s birthday all within 1 week! Not to make it all about me, but there’s another birthday this month… Diet Deep Dish’s 6 month anniversary! Hitting this milestone gave me a chance to take a step back and see how far DDD has come in just 6 months - from interviews to product reviews to a speaking engagement - yay! It also gave me a chance to reflect on why I started this blog in the first place: to show that it’s possible to enjoy delicious Midwest comfort food in a healthy way. With that in mind, I bring you Rosemary Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Chicken and Goat Cheese… 
And yes, it is as good as it sounds. I first saw this dish on the menu at Coquette Café and immediately started thinking of ways to lighten it up. In the past, I’ve used cauliflower, but this time we’re changing it up with butternut squash. The sauce ends up being a little sweet from the squash, which complements the goat cheese and rosemary perfectly.
And celebrating the 6 month mark would never have happened if YOU weren’t reading this, so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I am so grateful and excited for what’s to come! If you have a suggestion for another Midwestern dish to lighten-up, please leave a comment below! Thank you!
- 1 lb. chicken breast
- 6 cups water for boiling pasta (reserve 1 cup for sauce)
- Kosher salt
- 12 oz. whole wheat pasta
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 4 oz. goat cheese, softened at room temperature
- 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- Cook and shred the chicken breast. I like to place the chicken in the slow cooker with 1/2 cup water or broth and heat on low for 3-4 hours. This makes it so easy to shred!
- In a large pot, bring 6 cups of water with a sprinkle of salt to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender. RESERVE 1 CUP OF PASTA WATER. Set aside.
- Place the cubed butternut squash in a large saucepan and fill with about a 1/2 inch of water. Cover and bring to a simmer, cooking for about 10 minutes, until tender.
- Place the cooked squash, goat cheese, cream cheese and 1 cup pasta water in a blender and blend until smooth, adding more pasta water (or skim milk) as needed.
- Stir in the spices and pour over the pasta. Stir in the shredded chicken and enjoy!
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[…] The recipe calls for 1 cup of cubed butternut squash. That is about half of a small butternut squash. I’d recommend preparing the entire squash, then freezing the extra. Pureed butternut squash is delicious by itself or can be mixed into pasta or casseroles. I’ve even used it to make macaroni and cheese! […]