What's for dinner? In a hurry? Quick, yummy, on a budget meal! Easy Baked Penne Pasta



 Baked Penne



There are those days when I can barely pull myself together to cook a meal.  Another day, another meal.  I feel like I cook the same things over and over. 

When I find a recipe that looks good, I print it out and put it in my three hole binder.  It's like a custom made cookbook.  So, I decided to rummage through and see what "new" meal I could make and I found an easy one that would be perfect for nights that your in a bit of a hurry.  I don't see why you couldn't even make it the night before or even freeze it.

I found the original recipe at www.plainchicken.com but I did make some changes to suit my family.  Here is my altered version.

1 lb mild Italian sausage
1/4 cup chopped onions ( my husband HATES them, so I mince them very tiny hoping he does not      see them)
1 jar (24oz) spaghetti sauce
1 tub (11 oz) PHILADELPHIA whipped cream cheese
1 cup Kraft Shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
3 cups cooked Penne pasta (although, I did add a little more than that because it seemed like I had a lot of sauce)

**original recipe called for PHILDELPHIA Italian Cheese and Herb cooking cream, my local store no longer carries that item.

Brown the sausage and onion in a large non-stick pan.  In another pan, cook your pasta following the directions on the box.  Once your sausage is browned, add the spaghetti sauce, I cup of mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and cooked pasta and stir until all the cheese is completely melted.  Pour the pasta and sauce into a large casserole dish and cover.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

I served this dish with a caeser salad and garlic toast.  Quick, easy and oh so cheesy!

Let me know what you think!  What's your favorite - "in a hurry" meal to make?

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