How to Make Applebee's 3 Cheese Chicken Panini

Dinner Ideas with Chicken: 3 Cheese Penne Chicken Pasta #SummerofGiving

It's no secret that I'm a fan of pasta.  By far my favorite kind of food.  And my family is a huge fan too.  I love it because first off, it's amazing and yummy.  I also like it because it's easy to make, it is one of my favorite dinner ideas with chicken.  But one of my favorite things about it is they make super easy freezer meals. I love to make double a batch, make it for dinner that night and then freeze it for one of those crazy days when I don't want to make dinner.  That's what I did with this meal, but instead of saving the freezer meal for my family, I decided to make it for another family but it's the #SummerofGiving and I wanted to help out a family in need.

I headed to Walmart to get all of my ingredients.  By the far the easiest way to add chicken is to use Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken.  I love this stuff, and I always have a bag of it in my freezer so when I have a chicken dinner idea, I can just use it.   It's easy and convenient.

 Right now Tyson has partnered up with Champion for Kids and are going to help end hunger.    I LOVE it when companies do things like this and I think it's very important to do our part and help out.  Just by purchasing specially marked packages, Tyson will donate 1 meal to a child in need!  Plus Walmart has promised to feed 5 million kids this summer!  You should go out and help out with this great campaign.

I decided to make a 3 cheese penne chicken pasta and it was amazing!!  I seriously loved how it turned out!  I love it when I "make up" a recipe and it turns out, woohoo!

This is what you'll need:

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3 Cheese Penne Chicken Pasta

Love the Applebee's 3 Cheese Penne?  This is a copycat recipe that is delicious and easy to make.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Alfredo Sauce

• 4 oz 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese
• 2 Cups Low Fat Milk Not Skim
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Bruschetta

• 4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 6-8 Basil Leaves
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 5 Tbsp Olive Oil

Pasta

• 1 Box Penne Pasta
• 1-1 1/2 Cups Italian Cheese
• 1 Package Grilled and Ready Chicken add as much or as little as wanted

1. Cook the penne pasta as directed on the box. Cook al dente (1-2 minutes less than recommended)

   Prepare the Alfredo sauce

2.  Put the cream cheese, milk, flour, and salt into a blender and mix together. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Then add the garlic and heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until bubbly.

4. Add the mixture from the blender and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes. Then let it cook for 2-3 minutes more until it is a little thicker.

5. Add the Parmesan cheese, stir and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

6. Add noodles to casserole dish and pour sauce over noodles.

7. Add the chicken. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees

8. While the pasta is baking, prepared the Bruschetta. Diced all the tomatoes, garlic and basil and then mix it all up with the olive oil. Set aside. Add to pasta when done cooking.

This is what the sauce looks like (it will thicken up).

Once the noodles are cooked, place them into a casserole dish.

Pour the Alfredo sauce onto the noodles and then sprinkle on the Italian cheeses.

 Add the chicken.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the pasta was baking,  I prepared the Bruschetta.  I diced all the tomatoes, garlic and basil and then mix it all up with the olive oil.  Doesn't it look so good?!

 When the pasta is done baking, take it out and add the Bruschetta.

It was fabulous!  And it even tasted wonderful for left overs too!

Champion for Kids and Tyson are challenging us to serve other people and do simple service for them.  It's amazing what a little act of service can do for you, for the person you are serving and for the community.

We have some good friends that are moving in just a couple weeks and because I know how hectic moving is and packing and all the stuff that goes with it, I made them up a batch of this pasta.  I froze it for them, so when things are hectic and they don't feel like cooking, they can just take it out and cook it.  I also gave them some chicken nuggets because they have two young kids and chicken nuggets make for an easy and healthy meal.

Teaching my kids to serve is also very important to me, so I had the whole family go over and help deliver the food to our friends.  I challenge you to think about a friend or family in need and do something little for them.  You could bring them dinner or invite them over for a meal.  Or offer to watch their kids.  It doesn't matter what it is, just try to do some kind of service this week. Little things can make a big difference.Check out more of my pasta recipes:

Baked Ziti

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How to Make Applebee's 3 Cheese Chicken Panini

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