I gotta confess. I almost feel guilty even calling this a recipe. It’s so simple, so quick and so easy that it’s practically cheating. And as a disclaimer, I am not the first person to come up with this and I won’t be the last. But I did want to get this up for anyone who was following along with a meal plan and trying to figure out what in the world I was referencing. After you see this, you’ll not easily forget. Because at its most basic, there are only two ingredients:
Pasta Sauce + Cream Cheese
That’s it, folks!
I will give you the recipe for how my family best likes to eat this particular pasta, so it’s not a complete tease of a post. But I’ll also let you know that this sauce, like most sauces involving cheese, is best on tubular noodles because the sauce gets trapped inside giving you a rich mouthful. You can, and I do, serve it over strand pastas like spaghetti or fettuccine. But if you think about that bendy noodle-y goodness of mac n’ cheese, it’ll make sense for you.
Creamy Tomato Pasta
Course: MainCuisine: PastaDifficulty: Easy8
servings5
minutes15
minutes300
kcalIngredients
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
olive oil
1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. pasta, of choice
Directions
- Fill large pot with water and salt generously, then set on a boil for cooking the pasta.
- Set a large skillet (one you have a lid for) on a separate burner and set temp to medium-high.
As skillet gets hot, drizzle a happy amount of olive oil to start getting hot. You’re looking for a shimmer, not smoke. - Saute sausage in skillet.
When sausage is nearing being done, add onions and mushrooms and saute until onions are translucent. - Meanwhile, your water should now be boiling. Add pasta and cook to package directions.
- Add spaghetti sauce to skillet, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. You want the sauce to simmer not scorch. Make sure to check on it regularly and stir to keep anything from sticking.
- About 2 minutes before pasta is done, add cream cheese to the skillet and stir to melt it into the sauce.
- As pasta finishes, scoop out some of the starchy water with a coffee cup, before draining the pasta.
- Get sauce onto drained pasta ASAP to keep the noodles from clumping together. Combine well.
- Add a quantity of the reserved water to the sauce jar and give it a swish to get all that tastiness out. Add this to the pasta also.
- Garnish with parsley or grated Parmesan and enjoy with a green vegetable or fresh salad.
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