I’m glad you’re showing how easy it is to make cream cheese! Yes, you can definitely make just the sauce but you will likely need a little water to thin it out a little – just use your judgement there. Half-and-half or Greek yogurt can easily replace the heavy cream. Some suggestions:Replace sausage with ground pork, turkey, or fresh chicken sausage or even vegan sausage!Any type of marinara will work but I have also used crushed tomatoes with an Italian herb mix when I'm out of the jarred stuff.Half-and-half or Greek yogurt can easily replace the heavy cream.Replace wine with some chicken broth - or replace the white wine with red wine.Add some fresh greens like spinach, kale, or chard which not only adds a whole lot of color, but they boost the nutritional factor as well.Smells Like Home original recipe As a single, there is no way I could eat all that cream cheese within 2 weeks. I would not recommend freezing the cream cheese. Half-and-half or Greek yogurt can easily replace the heavy cream. Add bacon bits or chopped ham. I’ve got a new baby in the house and things are nutso here! I nominated you for an award today on my blog. I love that you used chicken sausage in place of the ground pork sausage – GREAT swap – and that you made it in an Instant Pot-like dealie. This is absolutely going to be in the dinner rotation from now on! This is by far one of the best things we’ve made in the past couple of years and I’m SO happy to hear you love it too! Its all I can find at my grocery store. I made the cream cheese and used homemade starter. It’s getting firm but not completely there yet and it’s been 22 hours. One Pot Taco Mac 2 tbsp olive oil Butter muslin and cheesecloth are reusable, by the way. Thanks for the great ideas!! Perfect blend of sauce to noodle ratio. I take a potful of whey, add in more whole milk but you can use just about any milk, heat until it steams (I think it’s about 180 degrees, I used to use a thermometer but found it not really necessary). I didn’t have everything on the list, so I subbed out some, but it was sooooo good! I saw your “ultimate stair-stepper”…that you go up and down several times a day to feed and water the chickens, goats, sheep, donkeys and carry the firewood, get to the vehicle, etc. Start out adding less and test to taste until it suits you. So happy this was a winner in your house too! Suzanne, Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you’re new to cheesemaking, I recommend using direct-set as it makes life simpler. Help lol. I sooo want to be able to make up a bunch of these and keep them on hand instead of the store bought ones. Can I make something with this? (Especially for a child who loves to eat cream cheese!) You may run into trouble if your temperature is lower than 70. You can also add flavorings now–if you want all your cream cheese to be the same. I was tasked with making several dozen cookies for a birthday party at work, and tried the cheesecake cookies for the first time; they were gone in 30 minutes, everyone’s favorite out of 5 different cookies I had baked. dont toss out the whey feed it to your chickens if you have them they LOVE it! I can’t make hard cheese with it, though! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review! I like your ideas for adding things to it! If I wanted to make just the sauce (already prepped noodles), would I just emit the 4 cups of water from the recipe? This post may contain affiliate links. It seems just as runny as when I put the starter in. Winter food doesn't get any better than this right here! (I’m not ready for completely natural yet – waaaaaay to much gray in mine!) © Smells Like Home But if you just want to spread it on something like bagels and eat, it feels grainy. Can you freeze the cream cheese when it finished? 16 oz marinara sauce Seemed really runny. Who wants some homemade brandied apricot cream cheese on toasted Grandmother Bread? Mine came out with too much water. […] this dish. There might have been 1/8c leftover. I did use a splash more wine and a few tblsp of fresh basil at the end. ¼ cup dry white wine This is definitely THE meal for these ridiculously frigid and snowy winter nights and I hope you love it! (Some cream cheese recipes call for heavy whipping cream, which makes a richer cream cheese, and require cooking to start the cheese.) very cute. Another great adventure to share with us. Oh yeah! Thanks. Remember that flavor will increase as the cheese sits in the fridge, so don’t overdo it with the seasonings. One Pot Creamy Sausage Pasta – an irresistible and super simple one-pot pasta dish filled with spicy sausage and a silky tomato cream sauce. I used ground Italian sweet sausage. ","image":["http:\/\/www.smells-like-home.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/One-Pot-Creamy-Sausage-Pasta-square-cropped-480x480.jpeg","http:\/\/www.smells-like-home.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/One-Pot-Creamy-Sausage-Pasta-square-cropped-480x360.jpeg","http:\/\/www.smells-like-home.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/One-Pot-Creamy-Sausage-Pasta-square-cropped-480x270.jpeg","http:\/\/www.smells-like-home.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/One-Pot-Creamy-Sausage-Pasta-square-cropped.jpeg"],"recipeCategory":"quick weeknight meals","recipeCuisine":"Italian","prepTime":"PT10M","cookTime":"PT15M","performTime":"PT15M","totalTime":"PT25M","recipeIngredient":["2 tbsp olive oil","1 red pepper, chopped (about 1 \u00bd cups)","1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)","4 cloves garlic, minced","Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper","\u00bd tsp ground fennel or 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional - see note below)","\u00bc tsp red pepper flakes","1 lb ground hot or sweet sausage (or a mix of both)","\u00bc cup dry white wine","16 oz marinara sauce","6 tbsp heavy cream","8 oz short pasta shapes, like penne","4 cups water","\u00bc cup grated Parmesan cheese","\u00bc cup chopped fresh basil"],"recipeInstructions":[{"@type":"HowToStep","text":"Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the peppers and onions until they start to soften, about 8 minutes.\u00a0Stir in the garlic, fennel, red pepper flakes, and a good pinch of salt and a few cranks of black pepper.\u00a0Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook with the peppers and onions until browned.\u00a0Pour the wine into the skillet and scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan.\u00a0Pour the sauce and 3 cups of water into the skillet and then stir the pasta into the mixture until well-combined.