Baked Cavatelli

Ingredients
7 oz dried cavatelli or wagon wheel macaroni (about 2 1/3 cups)
12 oz uncooked Italian sausage links, sliced 1/2 inch thick, or lean ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 26-oz jar pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

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. 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, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until nearly heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake about 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Notes: We couldn't find cavatelli at our grocery store. We used home-made pasta sauce and a combination of ground beef and ground sausage that we needed to use up. This was still really good. It seems that you could have a lot of variety with this recipe by trying different kinds of pasta sauce.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens 12th Edition Cook Book