Outback's Alice Springs Chicken

I don't even look at the menu when I go to the Outback, one of my favorite places to eat. We get a Bloomin' Onion for an appetizer and I order Alice Springs Chicken, no bacon, with a side of garlic mashed. De-lish. Sometimes I'll have a Wallaby Darned to drink, but usually I'm sipping a raspberry iced tea. And on the rare occasion that I actually order dessert, it's a Chocolate Thunder From Down Under.

What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

You can therefore imagine my glee when over a year ago, my mom found this recipe online. I don't know if this is the site where she found it, but it appears here too.



Now, this is not as good as the steakhouse's. But if your budget or schedule doesn't allow a night out, this is definitely a good second best.

Ingredients:
• ½ cup Dijon mustard
• ½ cup honey
• 1 ½ tsp vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 8 slices bacon, cooked (I omitted.)
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Combine the mustard, honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whip the mixture for about 30 seconds. Pour about 2/3 of the marinade over the chicken breasts and marinate them, covered, in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Chill the remaining marinade until later.

After the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 375F and heat an ovenproof frying pan large enough to hold all four breasts and 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. (If you don't have an ovenproof frying pan, transfer the chicken to a baking dish.)

Sear the chicken in the pan for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove pan from heat but keep chicken in the pan.

As the chicken is cooking, in a small frying pan sauté the mushrooms in the butter. Brush each seared chicken breast with a little of the reserved honey mustard marinade (not the portion that the chicken soaked in) being sure to save a little extra that you can serve on the side later with the dish.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Stack two pieces of cooked bacon, crosswise on each chicken breast. Spoon the sautéed mushrooms onto the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese evenly onto each breast followed by 1/4 cup of Cheddar.

Bake the pan of prepared chicken breasts for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble. Sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon parsley before serving. Put extra honey mustard marinade into a small bowl to serve on the side.