Brown ground beef in a large pan over medium heat.

Drain off excess fat from the pan.

Add minced garlic (or garlic powder), salt, tomato paste, and canned tomatoes to the ground beef.

Optionally, add finely chopped onion to the sauce.

Simmer the sauce uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water.

Cover the pot and turn off the heat.

Let the noodles sit in the hot water for 20 minutes; do not lift the cover.

In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, grated parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, beaten eggs, salt, and pepper.

In a 13x9x2 inch oblong dish, place half of the cooked noodles.

Spread half of the cottage cheese filling over the noodles.

Spread half of the meat sauce over the cottage cheese filling.

Repeat layers with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese filling, and meat sauce.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375F (190C) for approximately 30 minutes.

If the lasagna was assembled ahead of time and refrigerated, bake for 45 minutes (30 minutes + 15 minutes).

Let the lasagna stand for 5 minutes before cutting and serving to allow the filling to set slightly.