Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken....a copycat recipe

It seems the older I get, the more unimpressed I get with restaurant food.  The concept is good, but somehow the execution just isn't there.  More often than not, I end up leaving a restaurant thinking "I could have made that".  So, it should come as no surprise that I love copycat recipes.  Can I just say, this was one tasty chicken dish!  I mean come on, what is not to love...chicken in a delightful honey mustard marinade that makes it insanely juicy, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, cheese?!?!  Also, as impressive as the dish seems, it is surprisingly easy to put together. 

Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken
Recipe Slightly Adapted From:  A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

• 4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms (10-12)
• 2 TBSP Butter
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 slices bacon, cooked
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

For the Honey Mustard Marinade

• 1/2 cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Whisk together the Honey Mustard Marinade ingredients either by hand, hand mixer, or blender until well combined.
Place defrosted Chicken Breasts into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and pour 2/3 of the marinade over top, making sure all the chicken gets covered by sauce.  Place remaining 1/3 Honey Mustard Marinade in the refrigerator.  Once it is nearing the end of the marinating time, cook your bacon and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
In a skillet over medium heat, heat up 2 TBSP of the Olive Oil.  Sear the chicken 3-4 minutes per side and remove to a baking dish. DISCARD Ziploc bag with marinade!
While the chicken is searing, heat Butter and reserved Olive Oil in a saute pan.  Add sliced mushrooms and allow to saute until soft and brown.  Near the end of the saute time, add Garlic Clove and cook until fragrant.
Once in the baking dish, brush each chicken breast with some of the reserved Honey Mustard Sauce, saving any leftover for serving if desired.  Stack 2 slices of bacon on each chicken breast, creating an "X".  Spoon the mushroom mixture onto the bacon, making sure to coat each breast evenly.  Spread 1/4 cup Monterey Jack Cheese and 1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese on top of the mushrooms. 
Bake the chicken for 8-10 minutes.
ENJOY!!!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
This Chick Cooks
Eat at Home

Chili Verde (Mexican Stewed Pork)

You all know how I feel about the Mexican food here in North Carolina.  It is simply horrendous.  Stuffing a Poblano Pepper with hamburger and Velveeta does not a Chili Relleno make.   There were so may choices for a true, authentic Chili Relleno smothered with ridiculously SCRUMPTIOUS pork green chili when we lived in Colorado....Hacienda Colorado, Los Dos Patrillos, Brewery Bar, just to name my favorites.  So, what's a girl to do??  Experiment and try a billion recipes until she comes up with a winner.  As far as pork green chili goes, this is a winner.  It is much thicker and much more meaty than the smothering kind, but OH SO FLAVORFUL!  We enjoyed this stuffed in flour tortillas and topped with cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.  My daughter (who comes by her obsession with Chili Rellenos honestly) made a cheese and green chili quesadilla and used it almost as a scoop.  Brilliant I tell ya! 
However you choose to eat it, just eat it.  It is spectacular!

Chili Verde, aka Mexican Stewed Pork
Recipe slightly adapted from:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 2 TBSP vegetable or canola oil
• 5 pounds boneless pork roast, or boneless country ribs, trimmed of as much fat as possible
• Salt and pepper for seasoning roast.  I used salt and Montreal Steak Seasoning.
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
• 1 (15 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
• 3 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies
• 3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Cut the roast into 3-4 large chunks. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper on all sides. In a large heavy pot, the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the pork, being careful not to crowd the pot (brown the pork in shifts, if needed). Brown the pork on all sides until golden and well-browned, about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Leave the roast in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Place the pork and garlic and onions in the slow cooker. Stir in the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. After the roast has cooked for the allotted time, remove the roast. Shred it into bite-size pieces and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm. Pour the remaining liquid and ingredients from the slow cooker into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove, and simmer vigorously over medium-low or medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning, until the mixture considerably reduced and thickened. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!!!  Reducing the sauce is essential in deepening the flavor of the sauce.  Add the pork roast and sauce back to the slow cooker. Stir to coat the pork with the sauce. Turn the crockpot to low or high and allow the pork to heat through again. Serve with warm tortillas and desired toppings, such as sour cream, cheese, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes.

This recipe has been linked up at:
This Chick Cooks
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
The Country Cook
.

Menu Plan 9/26-10/1

Whoops...this should have been up yesterday....however, yesterday I had to do the Costco, Trader Joe's, Super Target run with my blue-eyed Monkey and his monkey named Jack.

Good-ol-Costco lunch

Jack got a piggy-back EVERYWHERE we went

 All of a sudden, it was 7:00pm.  I was starving and my dogs were-a-barkin'.  Dogs as in feet, not our sweet Bella. 

Ahhh....Bella-Moose. 

She never barks...or does anything else for that matter except grunt and  hold down the carpet.
ANYWHO....here is what is on the menu for the week, as always, in no particular order:

• BBQ Turkey Burgers, Fajita Fries
• Crockpot Balsamic Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta, Caprese Brushetta
• Skillet Beef Mac with Green Chilies and Corn, Rolls
• Alice Springs Chicken (Outback Steakhouse Copycat recipe), Smashed Potatoes, Steamed Normandy Mix
• Mandarin Chicken (Trader Joe's), Stir Fry Veggies, Steamed Rice, Potstickers

Blah Post

This isn't so much a blog-post as it is a blah-post. I just wanted to let you all know that I am still here. The Virgo-side of me is kicking in to give you a bullet point list (yes, I am SUCH a list-maker) at the reasoning for lack of posts lately:

• I have been dealing with some schedule challenges as I embark on some new paths and priorities.
• I am just feeling kinda "blah" right now.
• I haven't really cooked anything new that has been "blog-worthy" lately.
• Brutal honesty....Up until summer started, I had been working my ass off, literally, to lose weight and get into shape. Long story and several reasons later, I have gained it back. Embarrassing but true.
• Food blogging is not a good outlet when you are trying to break your obsession of food. Imagine a freakin' crack addict trying to write about what it was like to get high. Extreme, yes, but to anyone who has struggled with weight loss/food addiction, you totally get it.
• Food blogging feels like Project Runway..."One day you're in, the next day you are owwt". It has been a rollercoaster ride of feelings lately. I unfortunately haven't developed that tough layer yet. I don't like feeling like the needy, petty Jr. High girl in glasses and braces. I don't like the competition...but I am not sure if I don't like it because I am not winning...I don't like that I feel that way even less.

I am not quitting, but I will definitely be scaling back for a while. I feel inspired to share more of the journey that I am on now, you know, losing my ass...again, so perhaps I will start-up a separate blog detailing that. I just wanted to thank you all for all the love and support you have shown over the last 18-ish months and to let you know what was going on in my head and life right now. Love you all to pieces! XOXO

~Sig

Menu Plan 9/12-9/17

Here is what is on the menu plan this week (in no particular order)....what are you making?

~Southwest Chicken Enchilasgna

~Roasted Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Cucumber Dill Salsa, Garlic Green Beans
~Strawberry Chicken Salad, rolls
~Sausage and Roasted Peppers Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Ceasar Salad
~Whisky Peach BBQ Chicken, Smashed Potatoes, Ranch Wedge Salad
~Crockpot Chili Verde, Spanish Rice and Beans

Treats to make this week:

• Eton Mess
• Caramel Apple Salad
• Banana Bars