I usually cook from the hip. I am an intuitive cook. My family LOVED this. They scarfed it down like they hadn't eaten in weeks. I used the penne rigate even though it said not to. The dish turned out perfectly. I didn't time anything. I just cooked the ingredients until they seemed ready to go to the next step. My sauce was thick and tasty. My only other change was to salt and pepper as I went along. I didn't salt at the end.