Healthy High Protein Cheeseburger Helper

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz box pasta (ideally whole wheat, or a higher protein blend.) I like Bionaturae, Jovial or Goodles brands.

• 1 pound of ground beef

• 1 Tablespoon dried italian herbs

• 1 1/2 cup whole milk cottage cheese

• 1 cup grated fontina cheese

• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. (4 if you want it spicier)

• 1/2 cup of milk (I use whole milk)

•  1 Tablespoon of garlic salt, sprinkles of pepper

Assembly:

You can make the sauce, cook the pasta or brown the beef ahead of time or all simultaneously. Brown your ground beef with dried italian herbs in a large skillet. Cook pasta according to package. For the sauce, use a blender stick, immersion blender or small food processor to combine cottage cheese, grated cheese, chipotle peppers, milk, garlic salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust to taste if you want it stronger, add another chipotle pepper. (Or add more cheese if you think it’s not cheesy enough!)

Drain beef if needed and cooked pasta. Combine all ingredients in the skillet, stir and heat through. Make sure your heat isn’t past medium or the sauce can curdle some because of the cottage cheese! Serve with grated parmesan for an extra yum!

I’ve also considered stirring in cooked broccoli for an easy one stop meal or serve with vegetables or salad on the side.