Three Cheese Chicken Penne.

I have been trying to figure out and master Applebee's 3 Cheese Chicken Penne recipe (or close to it anyway). I have looked at recipes for all sorts of penne. After a few tweaks and a few attempts, I think I've finally figured it out. I made it last night for dinner and it was awesome!

Three Cheese Chicken Penne

2 chicken breasts

1/3 cup Italian salad dressing

3 cups penne pasta

15 ounces alfredo sauce

8 ounces Italian cheese , shredded (Mozzarella, Parmesan, Provolone) (I was low on mozzarella so I used some Mexican Style shredded cheese, and it worked well!)

4 tomatoes

1 teaspoon basil

2 -3 garlic cloves

6 tablespoons olive oil

1. Chop the chicken and marinade in Italian dressing for at least 30 minutes
2. Chop tomatoes, and add in a bowl with the oil, garlic and basil to make bruschetta. Set aside.
3. Boil penne until cooked.
4. Grill or broil the chicken. (I've grilled and George Foreman grilled them)
5. Drain water, then pour the alfredo sauce on top of the penne. (I normally heat up the sauce in a separate pan and add a little garlic to mine, but I love garlic!)
6. Layer on the bruschetta.
7. Add the layer of chicken.
8. Top it with the cheese. (Put a lid on the pot to let the cheese melt a bit or serve it on individual bowls and microwave it)
9. Serve with some garlic bread.

Homemade Mod Podge!

I have been wanting  to make Homemade Mod Podge, for a while now, and I finally did! It is so simple, no mess and works great. I made 8 oz for my first trial run. That would normally be $5-$8 in the store, but I only paid $2.

Here's how you do it:

Homemade Mod Podge 

Fill jar half way up with white glue (I used a 4oz bottle of Elmers)

Then fill the jar with the same amount of water as you did the glue.

Shake Well.

This is a 50/50 mixture of glue andwater.

If you would like a Glossy finish, add 1 Tablespoon of clear varnish.

I tried it out today, not for any particular project and it works great. I truly recommend making this at home and saving money by doing so!

Blackberry Cobbler. Sweet and Simple.

I know it's not yet blackberry season, but I would like to share my blackberry cobbler recipe. I've made this cobbler for years, and it's a definite favorite around here.

Approx. 2 1/2 to 3 c. blackberries or other berries

1 c. Bisquick or self-rising flour

1 c. sugar

1 c. quick oatmeal

3/4 stick butter

Wash berries and put in saucepan. Add about 1 cup of water or enough to cover. Bring to boil. Pour into 

pyrex dish.

Mix dry ingredients. Sprinkle over top of berries. Slice butter thinly and cover top of mixture. Bake at 350 

degrees until brown, which for me was about 35 minutes.