Cheesy Sausage and Pasta Bake (Freezer Meal)

COMFORT FOOD ALERT! 
Yum is all I have to say.  This is one of those dishes that is perfect to pull out of the freezer on one of those crazy nights that one kid has to get here and one has to get there and oh yeah, the husband is going to be late so you will have no time away from the little ones to get a decent dinner cooked.  Yup it's one of those days!
This is great because you can pop one fresh in the oven whenever and freeze one for one of "those" days.

Feel free to play around with seasonings or use ground beef instead of sausage or lighten it up with some ground turkey or chicken.  This is definitly one of those "anything goes" kind of recipes.

The recipe below was enough for a 9x9 "fresh batch" and a 9x12 freezer batch.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 T olive oil
2 lb ground sausage (or other ground meat)
2 Cups grated cheese (I used a mac and cheese mix, you could try mozzarella and cheddar or monterey jack and cheddar etc.)
1 box pasta, I think elbows works best
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
(again switch up the spices to your own liking - oregano, garlic powder etc.)
28 oz can of pureed tomatoes

Heat the oil and cook the onions to soften, season with salt

Add the meat and cook until brown (drain grease after if necessary, depending on the meat you use).

Return meat to pan, season with spices and add a pinch of salt.  Add tomatoes and bring up to bubbling.  Simmer 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop.

Add macaroni to sauce and stir well to incorporate.

Transer to baking dishes.  Cover the one you're cooking with foil and bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes remove from oven and turn oven up to a broil.  Top with cheeses and broil until brown and bubbly (about 4-5 minutes).

Directions:

• In large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until softened (3-4 min).  Season onions with a pinch of salt.
• Add meat and brown.  Drain excess grease from pan if needed.
• Return meat to pan and season with all spices you are using and another pinch of salt.  Add tomatoes.  Bring up to a bubble and then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. 
• Meanwhile cook your pasta - be sure to under cook it a bit, subtract 3 minutes off total cook time.  It will continue to cook in oven.  Drain.
• Add drained pasta to tomato/meat sauce.
• Preheat oven to 400.
• Add to casserole dishes.  Cover one with foil and bake 40 minutes.  Cover the other one with foil and plastic wrap (be sure to put a note on there to remind yourself "bake 400 degrees 1 hour, cover with cheese and broil until brown and bubbly".
• After 40 minutes pull it out of the oven and set oven to broil.  Cover casserole with cheeses and broil until brown and bubbly about 3-5 minutes.
• Serve with a salad to make a complete meal.