Week 8: Recipe #5--Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

YUM!  I love a good panini, and I found this one on the Pioneer Woman's blog (see link below).  Lily loves grilled cheese sandwiches, and she doesn't seem to mind when we throw in extra ingredients, so this worked well for her.  You can save time by buying a rotisserie chicken, but the marinade for this is great and the chicken turns out so delicious, I wouldn't risk it.  I highly recommend this meal--simply goodness!  The Pioneer Woman recommends serving this with cold grapes, so we do.  Makes 4 servings.

Photo from Pioneer Woman

You'll Need:

• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 8 whole sundried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 3 Tblsp. prepared basil pesto
• 1 Tblsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• black pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 whole red bell peppers
• 8 whole slices provolone or mozzarella cheese
• 8 slices good whole grain sandwich bread
• 4 Tblsp. butter, softened

Preparation:

1. Slightly flatten chicken with a mallet (just until uniform thickness).
2. In a blender or food processor puree sundried tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Add half the mixure into a ziploc bag with the chicken breasts.  Smush around to coat the chicken, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. After marinating, heat heavy skillet or grill to medium.  Grill or cook chicken until done.  Slice chicken into strips.
4. Sauce:  In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons of the sundried tomatoe mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
5. Roasted red peppers:  If you have a gas cooktop, blacken red peppers directly over the flame.  (If you don't, blacken them directly under the oven broiler.)  Completely blacken/char on all sides, then immediately seal in a ziploc bag.  Allow pepper to sit, sealed in the bag, for at least 20 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, remove from bag and use fingers to slip off the blackened skin.  Cut into strips, removing seeds and membranes.  Set aside.
6. To make the panini, spread generous amount of the tomato/pesto spread on one side of all the pieces of bread.  On four of the pieces, arrange 1/4 of the chicken slices, 1/4 of the pepper slices and two pieces of provolone.  Spread the other 4 pieces of bread with the spread face down.  Butter both sides of the sandwich, then grill in panini maker or on a skillet over medium-low heat. (If you use a skillet, set a heavy pan or skillet on top of the sandwich as each side browns.
7. Slice sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

Recipe and link:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/grilled-chicken-and-roasted-red-pepper-panini/