Baked Spicy Cavatappi Pasta

PREP 10 MIN COOK 40 MINS SERVES 6

12 oz (340g) uncooked cavatappi pasta (corkscrew-shaped macaroni) or medium shell pasta pasta (about 4 cups dry; look for whole wheat)
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb (454g) ground turkey or chicken
1 cup chopped onions
2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup each diced red and green bell peppers
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
2 cups low-sodium tomato pasta sauce
3/4 cup salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1 tsp each dried oregano, ground cumin and chili powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup 1% cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup packed shredded light Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (2oz/57g)
1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro or parsley

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey, onions, garlic, green and red peppers and jalapenos. Cook and stir until turkey is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any fat. Add pasta sauce, salsa, oregano, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

3. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spreed a bit of pasta sauce over bottom, followed by 1/2 the pasta and 1/2 the remaining sauce. Spread cottage cheese evenly over sauce. Spread remaining pasta over cottage cheese, followed by remaining sauce. Top with shredded cheese.

4. Cover and bake at 350'F for 30 minutes, until completely heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.

PER SERVING: 423 CAL, 9G TOTAL FAT (3.1G SAT FAT), 30G PROT, 57G CARB, 6G FIBER, 69MG CHOL, 662MG SOD

Believe it or not our little grocery store didn't have any ground chicken or turkey - today! So I just opted to use ground beef. Also in some of the other choices - I opted to using ricotta cheese instead of the cottage cheese and use the parsley instead of the cilantro.