• Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Start boiling the water to cook the lasagna noodles.
• Brown sausage in a large skillet. Just as the sausage is losing its pink color, add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if you are using these). Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, oregano, basil, onion powder, and garlic powder. Give things a stir to mix well. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste. (I just sprinkled a little black pepper and added about ½ teaspoon salt.) Bring to a simmer and cook covered over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the sauce is cooking, cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. When the noodles are done, drain in a strainer and then give them a rinse in cool water. Drain again and set aside.
• Mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and 2 teaspoons dried parsley together in a bowl. Set aside.

Assembly

• Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.
• In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or dish, put a little sauce (about 1 cup or a little more) in the bottom of the dish. Place three lasagna noodles side by side down the length of the dish. Spoon a third of the cottage cheese mixture down the noodles. Now put a little less than 1/3 of the sauce on top of the cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat twice more layering with the noodles, cottage cheese mixture, sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Reserve some sauce to add to the top of the lasagna.
• After the last layer of mozzarella has been added, top with the remaining sauce. Place on a foil-lined shallow baking pan to catch any juices that might try to escape during the baking process. Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour. I usually bake my lasagna closer to 1 hour, but every oven cooks differently and every baking dish cooks a little differently. It’s better to over-cook this than to under-cook it because if it is undercooked it will be really runny, but of course the ideal is the mama bear stage (just right).
• Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting for serving. The resting allows time for the lasagna to set.
• Serve with steamed broccoli, or roasted summer squash, or a tossed salad, and some garlic bread.