Calling All Pasta Lovers

Do you love an easy to prepare meal? Do you love pasta? Do you love Olive Garden? Do you love their Five Cheese Ziti al Forno? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this recipe is one you'll love. Red and White pasta has become a weeknight favorite at my house. I found this while scrolling through the recipe index on Life in the Lofthouse. This index is amazing. I have found so many great recipes on her site, not one of them was something I regretted making.

When I came across this recipe I was skeptical of it at first. It was so simple though, that I figured I might as well give it a shot. It calls for a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce, but since I have a favorite Alfredo recipe of my own, I decided to make my sauce to use instead.

After making this, I realized how similar it was to Olive Garden's Five Cheese Ziti al Forno. Since the homemade Alfredo sauce uses cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, you can create a four or five cheese pasta dish by using a variety of shredded cheese for topping, such as cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella.

Bring water to boil in a large pot and add 16 ounces of penne noodles. Cook according to package directions and drain. Meanwhile in medium size pot, melt 1 cube of butter. When the butter is melted add in the cream cheese and garlic powder and whisk out lumps. Pour in the two cups of milk, while stirring, then add the Parmesan cheese. Once smooth, add seasonings. I love to throw in a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes to give the Alfredo a little kick.

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish and pour about 1/2 a cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom and spread it evenly. Then add half of the noodles and half of the Alfredo. Cover with a layer of cheese, then repeat the process until sauce and noodles are gone.

Try to spread each layer as evenly as you can so the sauces mix together well during baking. Add cheese to cover top layer. If you'd prefer to just use mozzarella you can definitely do that. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

It was bubbling crazily when it came out. This pasta dish tends to be pretty messy, so I suggest serving it in bowls, rather than plates. Unless you have those fancy pasta plates that are pretty nifty, in that case I suggest using those since they are pasta plates and this is after all a pasta dish. 

Enjoy while hot and fresh, just don't burn your mouth. That hurts!

Red and White Pasta

1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta

1 (24 ounce) jar of meatless spaghetti sauce

1 cube butter

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cups milk

6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon blacker pepper

   parsley and crushed red pepper flakes to taste

2 cups shredded cheese

Cook entire package of pasta according to package directions and drain. Meanwhile melt the butter over medium high heat. Add 1 package of cream cheese and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder stirring to smooth out lumps. Add milk slowly, whisking until smooth. Add Parmesan, pepper and other spices as desired. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce. Pour in half of noodles and half of Alfredo sauce. Then pour in half of what's left of spaghetti sauce, cover with 1 cup shredded cheese. Then repeat with remaining noodles, Alfredo, then spaghetti. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.  

Recipe adapted from Life in the Lofthouse