New takes on the "sandwich cookie" and a 3-squash casserole, yes I said squash.

I want to start off with asking, "Did anyone else know that you can pretty much envelope any kind of sweet in cookie dough, bake it, and it comes out totally delicious?"  Yeah, me neither.  BUT because I stalk a ton of cooking blogs, I have been noticing this trend lately.  A lot.  Picky Palate has quite a few posts on this subject and they all look ridiculous.  I read the first two and thought, "I could make these."  I'm going to visit one of my best friends with another one of my best friends next weekend and I was originally going to make Sriracha cookies to bring.  Then Picky Palate made me think I would try two types of cookies.  Then I kept reading. And reading.  When my brain started registering what was happening - that one could cover other cookies and desserts and candies with chocolate chip cookie dough and bake them - I began to prioritize time in my mental schedule, not to finish all of the things on my to-do list, but for how I could make these 7 new cookie recipes I had found.  I have problems.  Look at these recipes and you will too.  Picky Palate

On to the squashes...  As I've said before, I have a list of healthy recipes I want to try, and I have been making attempt to make one at least every week.  This week I merged a few together.  Up until now I had no experience with spaghetti squash.  Zero.  I've seen it used in numerous online recipes, but was I brave enough to try?  I bought one at Hy-Vee and for a month it sat on my counter, staring at me, taunting me, saying, "I'm a fat yellow squash. You don't know how to cook me."  But I showed it.  After I nuked it, cut into it, and wondered with amazement at how it really does look like spaghetti, I took this recipe from Tasty Kitchen and instead of using pasta, I used the spaghetti squash!  I got extra lazy when it came to the butternut squash puree the recipe calls for.  I had high hopes of making my own, so I had already purchased a beautiful butternut squash.  I quickly realized I was too hungry for dinner to wait for it to cook and for me to puree.  Instead, I diced it into cubes and stuck it in the oven with some olive oil while I was getting everything else ready.  I also had some canned pumpkin I needed to use, so I thought, why not? And I threw that into the mix as well.  I did leave out the hamburger this time because I had forgotten to set it out to thaw- I'm being serious about how lazy I was when it came to dinner time.  After I had mixed all of the ingredients together, including my substitutions, I pulled the butternut squash out and tossed it in.  I baked it as a casserole and it was soooooooooo good.  Plus, I totally didn't feel bad about all of the vitamins I was getting with my new 3-squash casserole.  My only addition for next time would be more cheese- I was almost out - and some meat.  I was also thinking about the addition of diced onions and perhaps making it spicy by adding some chilli powder?  I put Sriracha on it this time around, so I know it is tasty with some spice.  It was a bit of an adventure, but I'm proud of how it came out. You should try it!

Original Recipe from Tasty Kitchen:

• 1 bag (about 16 Oz. Bag) Pasta
• 1 cup Butternut Squash Puree
• ½ cups Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Greek Cheese Yogurt
• ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ½ pounds Hamburger Meat
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Diced

In two separate pots, boil noodles until done. Brown meat until cooked all the way through.

While cooking, place all other ingredients into a large bowl and mix until just combined. Fold in cooked and strained noodles, and then meat. Place in a casserole dish, adding a bit more cheese to the top for browning, and place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.