Applebee's 3 Cheese Chicken Penne

ingredients:
1/2 chicken breast, cooked (see this recipe for an idea)
2 cups dry penne pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. butter/margarine
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. sour cream
1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1/2 small tomato
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of oregano

hardware:
large nonstick pot
collander
chef's knife
chopping board

procedure:

1. Boil the noodles in salted water (should taste as salty as seawater) with the olive oil for 9-11 minutes, to your preferred doneness. Drain and leave in the collander.
2. Peel the garlic, finely mince it, and then crush it into a paste with the side of your blade.
3. Melt 1 tbsp of the butter/margarine over medium heat in the pot you used for the pasta, then scrape the garlic paste into the pan. Sautee the garlic for about a minute.
4. Add the rest of the butter/margarine to the pan and melt, then stir in the flour. Cook until it combines into a paste.
5. Add the milk to the pan gradually, stirring constantly. This forms a roux, the base for almost all of my cheese sauces. It makes the cheese break down evenly into a smooth, uniform product rather than being stiff and stringy.
6. Simmer the milk down until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the sour cream and salt and pepper, stir to combine.
7. Add the cheese gradually, stirring constantly.
8. Add the noodles back to the pot and stir to combine. Heat until it reaches your desired temperature.
9. Dice the tomato and pour the lemon juice over it. Drain any excess. Throw a dash of oregano over the tomato.
10. Serve the pasta with the tomato and chicken on the top, and a sprinkle of extra parmesan cheese.

comments:
Story time! I used to work at Applebee's and I simply could not get enough of their 3 Cheese Chicken Penne. Except that I was a vegetarian at the time, so I got it without the chicken. Also, I grew up not liking raw tomatoes, so at first I would order it without the bruschetta. But then I tried it one day, and realized that I had grown to love tomatoes, especially in cheesy pasta. Then another day much later, I realized that my life is too short to not eat food that I love, like chicken and steak.

Anyway, since I don't work at Applebee's anymore, but I still crave this pasta all the time, I figured out how to make this recipe at home. They serve it with garlic bread, but I've never seen a huge need to add even more starch onto rich pasta dishes.