Outback Alice Springs Chicken, Lori Style

I'm a fan of Outback Steakhouse and love just about everything there. The Alice Springs Chicken on the menu is described as "Wood-fire grilled chicken breast topped with sautéed mushrooms, crisp bacon, melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar and finished with our honey mustard sauce." They serve it with Aussie Fries, but I didn't want a very heavy dinner. I've had it once or twice and it's pretty good but I always like to try to make some of my favorites at home. I found an Alice Springs recipe on KeyIngredient.com and gave it a twist of my own. 

For the Marinade
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup Canadian Mist Whiskey

For the Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons white cooking wine
1 large clove garlic, chopped
paprika, salt and pepper to taste
4 slices cooked bacon
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Medium Cheddar cheese
chopped fresh parsley

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Mix the marinade ingredients with an electric mixer or a whisk. Since I didn't have a large amount and it only took a minute to mix, I opted for the whisk. 

Place the chicken in a plastic container and coat with 1/3 of the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large deep skillet, heat the oil and garlic. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade the chicken was soaking in) and sear the chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. As this is being done, melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the mushrooms. Add the cooking wine. Cook until mushrooms are softened. Drain any excess liquid.

Place the chicken in a baking dish sprinkling with salt, pepper and paprika. Brush 1/2 of the remaining marinade onto the chicken. Save the rest of the marinade to serve on the side later. Add a slice of bacon to the top of each piece of chicken, then add a sprinkle of each cheese. Add the mushrooms on top then add some more cheese. 

Bake in the preheated oven 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Check with a meat thermometer to ensure they are cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.  

This turned out great. Hubby had not had this before so he was in for a culinary treat! It has all his favorites; chicken, bacon, cheese, bacon, garlic, bacon... did I say bacon? In any case this recipe came very close to the real deal, however it came out a lot less salty since I use little salt in my cooking due to blood pressure issues of mine. Bonus! I sprinkled a little paprika on my side of sauce for added zip and it complimented the recipe well. Now I'm going to try making their coconut shrimp, another favorite! Wish me luck on my next adventure in the kitchen.