Recipe - Cheesy Sausage Penne

We just enjoyed this dish tonight. It was wicked yummy! My children aren't big on lasagna, but they enjoyed this. Some even said it tasted like Sausage Braid made with pasta. High praise indeed!

Cheesy Sausage Penne

12 Servings
Prep: 25 min. Bake: 30 min.

1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 package (16 ounces) uncooked penne pasta
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
4 green onions, sliced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and onions.

In a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish, layer half of the pasta and sausage mixture. Dollop with half of the cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

Stumpf Notes: I didn't have any green onions, so those were omitted. Probably won't include them in the future since they would set off alarms in the children! I probably used about half of the spaghetti sauce called for since they aren't all big fans of a lot of tomato sauce. This filled a 13 x 9 to the top. It served us for dinner with lunch leftovers.