Even if the rest of the meal is perfect, a so-so sauce can completely ruin the meal. I've tried a bunch of different brands, different flavors, but I still haven't found a really good pasta sauce. I could make my own sauce, but that tends to take a long time. When I get home after work, I'm hungry! I don't want to wait for a sauce to develop flavor. So the solution is... compromise. I found a pasta bake that looks delicious and starts off with a regular pasta sauce with a few added ingredients to spice it up a little bit. So I gave it a try.
I'm amazed how adding a few ingredients can make a sauce taste so much better! The recipe I found adds Neufchatel to the sauce, which gives it a nice creamy flavor and texture. The original recipe calls for chicken, but I subbed Italian sausage because, as I mentioned earlier, it is probably my favorite type of meat. Delicious. With three different types of cheeses, this hearty pasta bake is the perfect dinner after a hard day at work (and then again the next day for lunch!). Definitely making this again! Recipe after the jump.
