Classic Sausage Pasta Bake

1 pound rigatoni pasta or other small noodle (I'm using whole wheat penne)
1 pound italian sausage
26 oz jar pasta sauce
15 oz ricotta cheese (I'm using cottage cheese because it's cheaper)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese + extra for the very top
3 Tbs. parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (I'm leaving this out. I would never use up an entire bundle of parsley.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions but remove 1 minute before it's done. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook sausage over medium heat. Stir in pasta sauce and cooked pasta. Transfer half of sausage mixture to a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Place ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon evenly over pasta in baking dish. Spread to cover pasta. Top with remaining pasta and more mozzarella.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted.

This is my kind of lasagna... deconstructed! No stacking or major layering involved. I will add a few shakes of onion powder, garlic powder, and a little salt to the pasta sauce before adding it to the dish to give it more flavor.