Our Favorite Sandwich: Chicken Paninis {recipe}

Sandwiches are not a simple meal in my house.

We have lunch together most days, because hubby works from home about half the time. Most of the time, I cook a dinner-type meal, just in a slightly smaller quantity, for lunch. But sometimes we have sandwiches. And everyone has a different preference for them.

Seahawk prefers egg salad. Interestingly enough, he hates eggs, but egg salad is his favorite sandwich. I have no idea how that works.

Munchkin likes peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes grilled cheese.

Small Fry typically eats whatever we give him. Sometimes I make him a tiny grilled cheese sandwich, sometimes it’s just some of the filling from the other sandwiches.

Hubby and I like paninis, and that’s the recipe I’m going to share with you today.

I usually buy the sourdough rounds for this sandwich and use the smaller, outer pieces for the kids’ sandwiches and the bigger ones from the middle for the paninis. First thing to do is spread some pesto all over one side of each slice of bread, much like you would mayonnaise or mustard for a cold sandwich. Put a few peppers over the top of the pesto (any kind you like – I usually use pepperoncinis or banana peppers), and then some cheese (again, whatever your favorite is – I use cheddar). You can use sliced cheese or shredded; I happened to have shredded on hand the day I took the pictures, so that’s what’s there.

Next, put your meat on top of the cheese. I usually slice up a chicken breast and cook it while I’m prepping the bread, but you could easily do it with lunch meat.

Then, cook the sandwich just like a grilled cheese sandwich with one change. You have to squish it down. The texture of the final product is off if you don’t. If you have a panini press, you’re way ahead of me! I just weigh mine down with a cast iron skillet. Remember to put some kind of fat on the outside of the sandwich for browning purposes. You can spread butter, but what I do is spray it with non-stick cooking spray. I find that works just as well, if not better, and is way easier.

What’s your favorite sandwich? If you don’t like sandwiches, what’s your go-to lunch option?

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Blessings,

Wendy