Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti sauce

Diced tomatoes

Stewed tomatoes

Tomato paste

Onion

Garlic

Thyme

Bay Leaf - remove after cooking the sauce

Water

Sugar

Place above ingredients in 3.5 quart crockpot and stir to mix well. Cook on high for about 4 hours or low about 8 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Allow to cool before refrigerating.

Lasagna:

Simmer the sauce with the browned meat in a large pot for about 20 minutes while you''re preparing to assemble the lasagna. Spray a 13 x 9 pyrex baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and Italian herb seasonings. Stir well for a few minutes to get it all mixed together. Ladle enough sauce into the bottom of the pyrex dish to just cover the bottom of the dish. Cover the sauce mixture with a layer of the cooked noodles, overlapping them just a little on the edges. Add a layer of the sauce mixture - about 2 cups to cover the noodles. Add another layer of noodles. Top noodles with the cheese mixture - the cheese mixture is thick, so just dollop it on and spread it the best you can and use just under half of what''s in the bowl. Repeat a layer of noodles, sauce, noodles, cheese, leaving just a few tablespoons full of the cheese mixture. Top with a last layer of noodles and then with sauce, using 3-4 cups of sauce on top for a moist lasagna. Dollop the remaining cheese mixture over the top of the sauce and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 1 hour in the oven or until bubbly. Serve will a salad and garlic toast. Leftovers are excellent heated in the microwave.