Baked Cavatelli

Serves 6

7 ounces dried cavatelli or wagon wheel pasta
12 ounces uncooked Italian sausage links, casings removed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is brown; remove from skillet and drain.

3. In a large bowl, stir together pasta sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the pepper. Add the cooked pasta and the sausage mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole.

4. Bake, covered, in a 375° oven for 25-30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake about 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

Served with salad

Results: We are overflowing with leftovers in our house, so I divided this into two 9x9 pans and put one in the freezer. Half of this dinner was the perfect amount for a family of four (with two being small children.) We had no leftovers.

This is very easy and quick to put together. It was also very tasty. Henry ate THREE bowls of this. He loved it. Steven, surprisingly, ate the sausage, but didn't want the pasta. That counts! Yay!