Alice Springs Chicken

Matt and I go to The Outback occasionally (I know, GASP – a chain)…and he loves this dish. Not sure why he even ordered it, since he is quite the meat and potatoes kind of guy, but he did, and he fell in love.

I have to admit that the idea to recreate this did not come 100% from me. I knew I wanted to make him a special meal as a surprise, something he would enjoy, and not think I was doing for purely selfish reasons (to try a new recipe or ingredient, or to create my own version of a dish, etc. – which is my usual motive)…but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make, until I came across Lani’s blog, Pleasure Cooker, and saw her post for Alice Springs Chicken. I used this as inspiration, but sort of did my own thing, mainly to cut fat and calories. I cut out some of the oil, used fat free olive oil spray to sauté the onions and mushrooms and the chicken, used turkey bacon (Matt never noticed!), and used low fat cheese.

Matt was quite surprised, and very pleased. We both enjoyed this meal, but I mostly enjoyed the fact that he loved it so much!

Sauteed Mushrooms on a Bed of Grilled Polenta

I was trying to create something a little different for my recent book club meeting, and decided I wanted to use polenta. I have never made it before, but always enjoy dishes that contain in, so I thought why not? I searched a little online, and ended up using this recipe as inspiration, although I sort of did my own thing.

I began by cooking the polenta according to the instructions on the package, but subbed chicken broth for water and added parmesan cheese. Once cooked, I let cool and then cut into small squares.

I chopped up 2 packages of mushrooms, one package of cremini and one package of baby bellas. I added them to a warm pan with a small amount of SmartBalance Light spread and a few sprays of olive oil. I let cook for about 5-6 minutes, and then added 2 shallots, finely diced, as well as 3 cloves of garlic. I gave those an additional 2-3 minutes to cook before adding a few turns of balsamic vinegar to the pan. I let the vinegar cook in pan and begin to caramelize, and then added a few squirts from a slice of lemon, and some white wine. I finished it off with salt and pepper, as well as some fresh rosemary and flat leaf parsley.

I then took the polenta squares and browned on both sides in a pan using olive oil spray. Once browned, I arranged on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. I placed a small mound of the mushroom mixture on top of each polenta square and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of parsley. Everyone agreed that these little bites were unique and delicious! We also agreed that our book of the month, Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, was amazing and we can’t wait for the movie (starting Julia Roberts) to hit theaters!