italian herb and cheese fettuccine

i'm a sucker for anything new in the food world. i've been seeing commercials and advertisements all over the place for kraft's philadelphia cooking creme. it's one of their newer products that is being marketed as a spoonable version of cream cheese. it comes in four different flavors (original, savory garlic, italian cheese & herb and santa fe blend) and is designed to be stirred to casseroles, pasta dishes, and pizzas to add a little zing to your meals. i'm usually not one for processed foods but it was on sale at the grocery store this week so i picked it up and decided to try it out for myself.

i went with the italian herb and cheese blend and added it to fettuccine noodles and stir-fried vegetables. all and all it was pretty good. i ended up adding some of the pasta cooking water because i felt the sauce was a little too heavy/creamy. if you're in a pinch and don't have time to make your own cream sauce, i would say use this because it's quick and easy. but if you have the time i would make a sauce from scratch because nothing beats fresh ingredients.

ingredients:
1 lb fettuccine noodles
1 tub (10 0z) philadelphia italian herb and cheese blend cooking creme
1 lb turkey sausage, sliced thin
1 (16 oz) package frozen vegetable medley (any will do)
1/2 cup-1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
garnishes: parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes

directions:
cook noodles according to directions. reserve pasta water.

heat large skillet over medium high heat with evoo. brown sausages for about 7 minutes. add frozen vegetables, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, until vegetables have thawed out. add cooking creme and noodles to skillet and stir together. add reserved pasta water, one ladle at at a time, until sauce is to your desired consistency. sprinkle with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. serve immediately.