Cavatini

• 1 lb of ground hamburger meat (browned and drained well)
• 3 mild italian sausage links (either browned in the casing and sliced OR squeezed out of the casing and browned with the hamburger)
• 1 pound of pasta (rigatoni, elbow macaroni, penne, or shells) (cooked al dente - still a little firm)
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 (32 oz) can of tomato sauce (puree)
• 1 onion (chopped to your preference)
• 1 tsp of italian seasoning (oregano & thyme combination) OR 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 4 good four-finger pinches of sugar (using thumb and first three fingers ~ it helps to cut the acidity in the tomato puree)
• 1 small can of mushrooms (drained)
• 2 (8 oz) bags of shredded cheese (1 italian blend & 1 mozzarella)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Put on a pot of water to boil and put a lid on it (Water boils faster when it has a lid on it)
3. While waiting for the pasta water to boil - In a large skillet, brown the italian sausage and hamburger together with the onion at medium to high heat. Usually about the same time the meat gets brown, the water is usually boiling.
4. When the pot of water comes to a boil add a pinch of salt but no oil. (Adding oil to pasta while its cooking causes the pasta itself to also becoming oily and prevents sauce from sticking to the pasta) - Boil the pasta until JUST BEFORE its done and the pasta is still firm (al dente).
5. Lower the heat. Add in the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, herbs (spices), sugar, and mushrooms. Let them simmer until the pasta is al dente.
6. When the pasta gets done, ladle out 1/2 cup of pasta water into the sauce, and then drain it well.
7. Dump pasta into a big mixing bowl. Fold in the sauce/meat mixture.
8. Fold in 1/2 of each bag of cheese.
9. Grease 9 x 13 pan using 1 tbsp of olive oil and spread around with a paper towel.
10. Pour pasta mixture into the pan and top with the remaining cheese.
11. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 25-30 minutes.
    

*KITCHEN TIP*

Spray the underside of the aluminum foil that will be covering the dish with non-stick cooking spray. It helps to prevent all the cheese from peeling off the top of the dish and stuck to the tin foil after its done baking.

Also, when covering a pan of tomato-based pasta with aluminum foil, make sure it doesn't lay directly on top of it ~ Tent it a tad bit.