1. 1. Preheat oven to 350*F. (175*C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. 2. 2. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage and onion in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Pour in wine, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella. 3. 3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 4. My Note: The only thing is I couldn't find Italian sausage at my local grocery store that was not already in a sausage casing. I bought it anyway and squeezed the sausage out. It worked well but I also used hot sausage which I think added some flavor. Considering the recipe doesn't call for any spices I think the spicyness enhanced the flavor. Another thing I found was cooking the pasta to al dente was still too long and by the time it was baked in the oven it came out softer than I wanted it. Next time I'll only cook the penne about 5 minutes in boiling water or I'll immediately submerge it in cold water to the cooking. Other than that the recipe is a keeper and I'll be making it again and again. 5. I took this recipe, and play with it as such: It's fine to deglaze with the wine, but cook the sauce in a different skillet. When starting the sauce, use a bit of olive oil, and take some shallots, minced onion, or shaved red onion, and simmer it in the oil. Add a bit of minced garlic. Take some basil leaves and throw those in the oil for one minute, and then add the tomatoes, etc. The flavor will be MUCH more substantial. I found the regular recipe to be a nice family dinner recipe, but not much more (in case you want to impress). 6. LOVED THIS! BUT, I changed it a tad more, I used a smaller can of tomato sauce and used a jar of garden style spaghetti sauce (which has green peppers and mushrooms) instead of the tomatoes and tomato paste. I liked subtle taste of wine in the pasta bake. My family just gobbled this up. Cant wait to make this for a Pot luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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