High Protein Million Dollar Pasta

Macros - 42P 40C 16F 4 fiber
Servings: 9
Serving size: 312g
Prep Time in Minutes: 20
Cook Time: 20

Ingredients:
16oz 99% lean ground turkey
16oz 90/10 lean ground beef
2 tsp salt 
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2g olive oil
230g sweet onion, diced (1 small onion)
4 garlic cloves, minced (can omit if using garlic marinara)
32oz marinara sauce
15oz Good culture 2% cottage cheese
175g cheeses shredded (any mix of parmesan, mozzarella, Romano)
12oz box of pasta, cooked
Red pepper flakes
Fresh basil

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Sautéed diced onions in the olive oil until translucent and soft. If using garlic cloves, throw those in at the same time.
3. Brown turkey and beef mixture in a very large pan or dutch oven over medium heat until there is no pink left. While this is cooking start on your pasta and cook it until al dente per the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
4. Add in the salt and the Italian seasoning to the meat mixture and stir. 
5. Add the onion to the meat mixture and stir. 
6. Add in the marinara sauce and stir.
7. Take your reserved pasta and add it to the meat mixture. Let this sit on the stove until it starts to bubble.
8. Begin to build the pasta dish. In a 9”x12” casserole dish add half of the meat and pasta mixture. Layer on half the cottage cheese and shredded cheese. Then layer on the last of the meat and pasta mixture and the last of the cottage cheese and shredded cheese on top. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 

Notes:

- You can use different styles of pasta in this dish. I used penne, but spaghetti also works and is what made this recipe famous! You can do regular, plan based or gluten free pastas.

- Do not overcook the pasta because it will also bake in the oven. Make sure to cook just to al dente.

- If you do not want this much protein just omit one pound of meat listed above, the recipe still works just as well with one pound of meat vs two pounds.

- For the cheese, I would recommend using freshly grated cheese. The pre-shredded cheeses often contains stabilizers and anti-caking agents and don’t melt as well.

- It’s best to let it rest for at least 10 minutes out of the oven so it has time to set and won’t fall apart when serving.

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