Baked Ziti with Bacon & Goat Cheese

I came up with this in my head tonight after debating whether to order in or not.  I've been bad with ordering in this past week so decided to see what I could put together from what was in the house.  The ingredients I came up with:

• 375 grams of bacon, sliced in one inch pieces and fried until crisp
• 1 can (10oz) of Rotel tomatoes

• 1 cup of no salt tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon rubbed basil
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped and for garnish
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 box of Ziti, cooked in salted water and drained
• 1 log (300 grams) of Kirkland plain goat cheese, crumbled

• 1 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

I preheated the oven to 350°F.  I quickly put the sauce, tomatoes, cilantro & seasonings together and simmered until warm.

I fried the bacon next.  I had to keep draining off the fat while it cooked so that it would crisp.

When it was done, I again drained the fat off and patted pieces dry.  I set aside until ready.  I cooked the pasta to the package instructions, drained it, but kept one ladle of the water.  I added the water, sauce, goat cheese and bacon and mixed till combined.

I poured into 13" x 9" pan that I sprayed with "Pam".   I sprinkled on the Romano cheese.

I baked for 40 minutes and let rest 10.

I plated and garnished with cilantro.

This was tasty, though a bit dry.  It could have used extra sauce.  The parts that had the creamy goat cheese helped it out.  One more cup of sauce and I think it would have been perfect.