This pasta dish is a lovely hearty, tasty, and very flexible. It's high in protein since it has cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and ground meat or sausage.
Ingredients:
12 oz of Penne Pasta ( or your favorite pasta) 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1/2 pound ground beef or sausage 3 cups of Marinara Sauce or favorite tomato sauce 5 oz of raw spinach or (small bag) 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese 1 cup cottage cheese (not no-fat since it will be too watery) Serve with crushed red pepper - to be added to taste
Directions:
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, cook pasta as directed. Drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the meat until it is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Stir in the spinach, sauté for about 30 seconds, add tomato sauce, pasta and red pepper to taste. Mix well to coat evenly with sauce until sauce is heated, then mix in cottage cheese until just warmed. Transfer the pasta mixture to a medium baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese, put under a broiler a few minutes until cheese begins to melt and brown.