Preheat oven to 375℉ and brush a 9x13 pan with olive oil.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ground meat and begin to brown, breaking it up as it browns. Once the meat is about halfway cooked, season with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon oregano. Continue to cook until fully browned. Turn off the heat, drain off any excess grease if needed, and return the meat to the skillet.

To the browned meat, add the prepared spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of water, mixing well to incorporate. (If you are not adding ground meat, simply combine the water with spaghetti sauce in a large bowl at this point.)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese with parsley, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, egg, and ¼ cup parmesan cheese until well combined.

To layer the lasagna, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay 4 noodles down over the meat, breaking the noodles if needed to fit. Remember it is important to not overlap the noodles, to allow them to cook evenly.

Evenly top the noodles with ½ of the cottage cheese mixture. Top with 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat the layers.

Finish layering the lasagna, by adding the final 4 lasagna noodles to the lasagna. Top with the remaining meat sauce, spreading to fully cover the noodles. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese evenly over the sauce.

Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the foil and return to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the noodles are tender.

Remove the lasagna from the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.