Penne & Sausage Casserole

This recipe makes 2.  So you make a double batch all at the same time and freeze the 2nd pan for later.

 The meat and sauce mixture on the stove.  Make sure you start with a big enough pan.

1 large box penne noodles
1 lb bulk sausage
1 lb mushrooms*
1 large onion
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cups dry red wine or beef broth*
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
4 cups shredded mozz
4 cups Fontina cheese* (I do not know what this is, and I couldn't find it at the store, so I just used a mixture of mozz and cheddar for the top.)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain and set aside.  In the same dutch oven, saute mushrooms and onion in oil until tender.  Add garlic and oregano; cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in 1 cup of broth.  Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half.  Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, sausage and remaining wine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain pasta.  Spread a little of the sauce mixture over the bottom of each pan.  Divide the pasta in half between the 2 pans.  Top with the rest of the sauce/meat mixture.  Top with cheeses.
Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Do not bake the 2nd pan, instead freeze the second pan to have another night!  Just let thaw and cook a different day.  May take a little longer to cook the frozen one.


*So my differences here with this recipe is that I did not use the mushrooms, I used whole wheat organic noodles, just mozz and cheddar cheese since I couldn't find the other kind of cheese, and I didn't have the dry red wine or beef broth.  Instead I used the last 1/4 cup of the dry white wine that I had, and some vegetable broth.   There you have it.....more proof that you do not have to follow a recipe to a T!