Sunday, January 17, 2010

Chicken Caprese Panini



I love a good Caprese Salad. Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, some basil or pesto and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I also love Sandwiches, in this case paninis. I have been craving a caprese panini, but since I was making this for dinner and Kevin likes meat for dinner I decided to add some chicken... These turned out AWESOME!

INGREDIENTS:
Choice of Bread. If I had the time I would make some soft Foccacia but without the time to bake my own bread I just used Walmarts flat sandwich rounds found in their bakery.

Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Fresh Mozzarella
Pesto Spread- you can make your own pesto with fresh basil, olive oil and pine nuts but I just got the spread at the store.
1 Chicken Breast
Balsamic Vinegar



Marinate the chicken in some Balsamic Vinegar. I just pan fried the chicken but you can throw it on a grill. If you cook it in a pan add a little balsamic and water so the vinegar doesn't just burn. I tried cutting the chicken in half and also in strips. I found that cutting it in half was best and actually for round two of the sandwiches I used one chicken breast for two sandwiches, it depends on the size of the chicken.

Spread the Pesto on one side of bread- or both if you're feeling wild.
place sliced mozzarella and tomatoes on top of pesto spread. I don't have a panini press so I just use my George Foreman and it is awesome for paninis. If you don't have a George Foreman or a press you can just use a frying pan and flatten it with a another pan or a spatula.
After the mozzarella is melty and the bread is crusty pull it off the grill and add the chicken. The first time I made these I put the chicken on before cooking the sandwich and the juices pressed out of the chicken and made the bread soggy so it is just better to add the meat at the end.

ENJOY YOUR SANDWICH, THESE WERE YUMMY YUMMY!!

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