Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs Lean Ground Turkey or Beef (raw)
- 2 jars (24 oz each) Marinara Sauce
- 1 container (16 oz) Low-fat Cottage Cheese
- 1 box (16 oz) Protein Pasta or Whole Wheat Penne
- 2 cups Low-sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Shredded Low-fat Mozzarella Cheese
- 3 cups Fresh Baby Spinach
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the raw ground turkey or beef at the bottom of your slow cooker. Break it up slightly with a wooden spoon, though you don’t need to brown it beforehand. Pour both jars of marinara sauce over the meat. Add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir the sauce and meat together until combined.
- Cover the crockpot with the lid. Set the temperature to High for 3 to 4 hours or Low for 6 to 7 hours. Halfway through the cooking time, give the mixture a quick stir to ensure the meat is breaking into small crumbles as it cooks in the sauce.
- While the meat cooks, place the cottage cheese into a blender and pulse until completely smooth. Once the slow cooker timer is up and the meat is fully cooked, stir in the blended cottage cheese and the fresh baby spinach. The heat from the sauce will wilt the spinach in minutes.
- Add the dry pasta and the chicken broth to the crockpot. Stir well to ensure all pasta noodles are submerged in liquid. Cover and cook on High for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Avoid overcooking to prevent the noodles from becoming mushy.
- Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the pasta. Cover for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately or portion out into eight meal prep containers for the week ahead.
- Cook Time: 4 hours 5 minutes