Penne in a Creamy, Spicy Cheese Sauce

It's been a terribly long, stressful week. Most days I felt like I barely had time to eat, let alone cook anything. When Friday arrived and I got to leave work early, I decided it was time to whip up some creamy, gooey comfort food. If you like cheese, you must make this recipe.


Penne with Chicken in a Creamy Brie Sauce
From What's in My Kitchen, adapted
Serves 4
Prep Time - 7 min
Cook Time - 25 min

INGREDIENTS
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
8 oz pasta (I used penne)
2 Tbsp butter
1 green bell pepper, sliced (I omitted)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup half and half
4 oz Brie, rind cut off, cut as small as possible (I used Raclette, another semi-soft French cheese - I'm sure any softer cheese would be delicious)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta, drain and move to a large bowl.

Season chicken with salt, pepper, & garlic powder. Cook chicken completely and cut into cubes. Set aside. (I did this step on the George Foreman grill)

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet and add garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. If you're using green pepper, add that at the same time. Stir in the red pepper and Italian seasoning and cook for another minute. Add the chicken stock and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let simmer for a minute or two.

Add half & half and stir constantly until it starts to thicken. Add the cheese and continue stirring. When the cheese is melted and the sauce starts to thicken, turn off the heat and stir for another minute.

Add pasta and chicken to the skillet and stir until coated.

Pour into a casserole dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes. You may need to stir a bit before you put it in the oven - my cheese sauce poured out more quickly than the pasta so it wasn't very even.