This lasagna is super easy to fix and bake in the crock pot. The ingredients are layered and slow cooked to perfection. If you're skeptical about using broken, uncooked lasagna noodles, try the recipe; you'll be surprised. It comes out looking and tasting just like a layered, baked lasagna, and with far less work and mess. Don't feel you have to follow the recipe to a "T. " Like most casseroles and slow cooker combinations, it is a versatile recipe, and highly adaptable. For a chunkier sauce, replace the tomato sauce with two 14. 5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes, or use half tomato sauce and half pasta sauce or marinara. If you prefer ricotta cheese in your lasagna, go ahead and use it instead of cottage cheese. For a fresh-baked look, just before serving, sprinkle extra mozzarella cheese over the top and place it under the broiler or bake it in a hot oven for a few minutes. Feel free to replace the ground beef with part or all italian sausage (spicy or mild, bulk or removed from casings), or for a leaner sauce, use ground turkey. If you like a very meaty sauce, add an extra 1/2 pound of meat. Tvp or beans are good protein replacement options for vegetarians.