Aussie Chicken

Today was “Beauty Day” at Nicholas‘ school, with everyone, INCLUDING the boys, getting their hair and nails done. After the beauty regimen, the kids had some time to play with the sprinklers outside, and Nicholas apparently told his teacher that he didn’t want to play in the water because he didn’t want to mess up his nails. Too funny! At night, he loves to put lotion on his and my legs and arms, a bedtime ritual before lights out. Not sure The Husband thinks it’s as cute as I do that his son is getting his nails done (no pink nailpolish, I promise!)…

Last night, they went to the park after dinner and Nicholas came home bearing gifts for me, as he usually does. Digging in his pockets, he produced a fistful of leaves he had collected. The day before, it was a few rocks, and the day before that, wood chips. I think it’s absolutely adorable (of course!) and it’s funny to see the vast differences between boys and girls. Girls would bring home flowers, lady bugs and those dandelion things that you blow for a wish. Even with his nails done, he’s definitely all boy!

Kept debating about what I wanted to do for dinner tonight. Couldn’t decide between getting take-out and taking the easy (read: lazy) way out, or cooking. Cooking won, and I made Aussie Chicken. I actually had all the ingredients already on hand – I love when that happens. It was a very simple dish and tabled within 30 minutes or so. Cooking the bacon and the chicken at the same time in different pans cut down on total time, start to finish. I served the chicken over brown rice, since there was sauce with the chicken, and that was perfect. I made a few small changes, which are included in the recipe below. If you make it, you can safely cut the sauce ingredients in half … that would still be plenty.

Got an e-mail today from Martha Stewart’s camp announcing that her new show, “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” starts on September 21, so mark your calendars. I’m looking forward to this one. I would have liked to audition for it, but didn’t get the info until the day of the NYC auditions, so couldn’t swing it. Maybe next round. I’ll definitely be watching though.

We had an appointment at the house at 8:30 tonight. The guy calls at ten to 9, saying he’s on his way and will be here in about half-an-hour. So, he ended up showing up at 9:30 – ugh. Had a little time to kill, so I made some cookies. Nicholas’ cookie jar was barren, and it was time to remedy that.

On the Cookie Madness blog, Anna made ANZAC Biscuits the other day. Given the prep and cooking time, they were perfect for squeezing in while waiting for the guy to show up. They were on the cookie sheet in literally minutes. The recipe yields a dozen, which is a nice little stash for Nicholas’ Cookie Monster Cookie Jar. Originally called Soldiers’ Biscuits, these cookies are a World War veteran themselves, making it into many CARE packages because with their lack of eggs, they are great for shipping and keeping fresh. You can read more about the history of ANZAC biscuits here. Like Anna described on her blog, the outside is a little crispy, and the inside a little chewy – perfect, and a definite repeater for us. They’ll be making their way into the next CARE package for our own adopted soldier. Thanks, Anna!

Tomorrow night, Nicholas is having dinner with my parents, so The Husband and I have a little bit of free time. I have some pictures to pick up, and besides that, our evening is anybody’s guess. Maybe fried oysters. There’s a place nearby that we like, and haven’t had a chance to go there in awhile… who knows where the wind will move us. Until then…

Aussie Chicken
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
15 slices bacon, cut in half
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 oz packaged sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups shredded colby-monterey jack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Rub the chicken breasts with the seasoning salt. Preheat oven to 350. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until crisp. Set aside. Lightly saute the mushrooms in the same pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, honey, corn syrup, mayonnaise and dried onion flakes. Remove half of sauce, cover and refrigerate to serve later.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the breasts in the skillet and saute for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned.

Remove from skillet and place the breasts into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Apply the honey mustard sauce to each breast, then layer each breast with mushrooms and bacon. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken juices run clear.

Garnish with parsley and serve with the reserved honey mustard sauce.