In a large skillet on the stove top cook and crumble the Italian sausage, onion and garlic until the sausage is no longer pink and the onions start to become translucent. Drain off the excess cooking fat from the sausage mixture.
Add the sausage, spices, canned tomatoes, tomato juice and chicken broth to a 5 quart or larger slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours.
Remove the bay leaf and discard.
Add in the broken lasagna noodles and cook an additional 1 hour until the noodles are al dente.
In a mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Top the soup with a spoonful of the ricotta cheese mixture before serving.