#SecretRecipeClub ~ Chicken Caesar Pasta, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, and S'mores Cookies

Welcome to the July, Group D, reveal day for Secret Recipe Club! I hope you will take a moment to visit the Secret Recipe Club if you've never heard of it before - it is a wonderful group of food bloggers who are given a secret assignment of another member's blog each month and our goal is to pick ANYTHING from their blog to make and post about on our designated reveal day!

For the month of July I was assigned to our fearless leader, Sarah's blog "Fantastical Sharing of Recipes"! Since I had such an important assignment I decided I would go for a full meal - dinner, side, and dessert to share today. This was not necessarily an easy assignment - Sarah's recipe index is MASSIVE and it was really hard to narrow down our final choices! You will find a wide variety of dishes to suit your tastes on Sarah's blog - definitely stop by and drool your way through a few dishes when you have a moment. You won't be disappointed!

The first dish we narrowed down was Chicken Caesar pasta - I had chicken thawed out and so went straight to the chicken dishes and opened about 6 or 7 recipes before we settled on the Chicken Caesar Pasta. It is a great base recipe that can easily be adapted. It is very creamy and cheesy, and I think would do well with the addition of some broccoli. Yumm! The Caesar dressing gives it a nice flavor and it was really nice for something different.

The second dish we made was the super yummy bacon Brussels sprouts - YUMM. I love Brussels sprouts and don't make them nearly often enough so this was a really nice treat. Simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil and then tossed with chopped bacon and a little extra bacon grease? Delicious. We devoured these.

And finally, the amazing cookies you see above. S'mores cookies. Yes, please and thank you. I adore all things s'mores and couldn't pass these ones up. I am very glad I didn't! Everyone in the house agrees these are amazing. I had my oven too low for the initial batch so mine spread more than they should have and the marshmallows totally melted, but they are perfectly tender, a little crisped around the edges, and full of gooey melty chocolate and marshmallows. The graham cracker base gives them a nice crunch and another level of texture and flavor. These are awesome - perfect to share (or not... up to you!)

This was a wonderful and fun month for me and my crew! I loved all three dishes we made and enjoyed - I can't wait to visit Sarah's blog again for more dinner inspiration soon. Happy reveal day Group D!

Chicken Caesar Pasta from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Ingredients
1 lb. penne pasta, cooked
16 oz. cooked chicken, cubed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz. chicken broth
12 oz. Caesar salad dressing

Directions

1. Mix together all ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of parsley, if desired.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Ingredients
4 cups Brussels sprouts
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup bacon, diced and cooked, bacon grease reserved
EVOO

Directions

1. Trim off bases of sprouts and toss with EVOO and salt and pepper. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
2. Roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Toss halfway through cooking. (Roast longer if desired, 15 minutes was about right for us to get them dark on the outside and cooked through).
3. Meanwhile, cook bacon. Remove bacon from the skillet and reserve bacon grease. Chop bacon when cool. 
4. When sprouts are roasted add them into the skillet you cooked the bacon in, add a little bit of bacon grease (to taste), and toss with the chopped bacon and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

S'mores Cookies from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Ingredients
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
4 to 5 regular sized Hershey's bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions

1. Lay out your graham crackers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or two. You'll want them to be touching.
2. In an electric mixer, cream together softened butter and sugars until fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.
4. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients on low speed.
6. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows.
7. Chill for 1 hour or overnight.
8. Drop by the tbsp. onto graham crackers and press down slightly.
9. Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.
10. Remove from oven and add Hershey bar pieces.
11. Bake for 5 to 7 more minutes.
12. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

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