The disagreement started once we saw all those new Olive Garden commercials doing it. Her point is that nothing is going to taste great with the same thing used twice in a dish. I say differently. Like if you add a good Italian sauce or something and use rigatoni noddles.
There’s a traditional dish in Switzerland combining pasta, potatoes, apple sauce, cheese and some other stuff to a great meal reminding me of mac and cheese but elevated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Älplermagronen
It’s great!