Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To make Alfredo, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Once melted, mix in the cream cheese. Next, stir in the heavy cream and garlic powder. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, decrease the heat and simmer, stirring often, while you cook the pasta. Stir the Parmesan cheese into the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Go easy on the salt, as you've added Parmesan to the sauce and pasta water will be salted. Start with a pinch. I used a heavier pinch of pepper.)
Using SALTED water, cook the pasta according to package directions; drain.
To assemble, spread a thin layer of desired spaghetti sauce in a 9x13- inch baking dish. Layer half the pasta, half the Alfredo sauce, half the spaghetti sauce, and 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese (I only used two total cups of mozzarella, so for each cheese layer, I only used one cup, not 1.5.) Repeat the layering with the remaining pasta, Alfredo sauce, spaghetti sauce, and cheese.
To prevent the top layer of cheese from sticking to the top of the foil as it bakes, apply a quick spritz of cooking spray onto the aluminum foil, then cover pan and bake about 30 minutes or until it is hot and bubbly. After cook time, I like removing the foil and broiling the top layer of cheese for 2 minutes (set a timer!) so it's nice and bubbly. Serve with your favorite garlic bread or breadsticks!
(I made this ahead of time, covered with foil, and refrigerated until ready to bake. Add a few extra minutes to the cook time if you put into the oven cold.)
*www.thefoodnanny.com
