GRILLED CHICKEN PESTO PANINI

What is a panini? In Italian it means "small bread roll". It's pretty much yummy cheese, meat, and herbs squished between fabulous bread. This recipe came from the ward recipe swap 2 months ago from DW who got it from her sis-in-law who got it from ??? After tasting hers, I went to the sandwich shop down the road and tried their chicken pesto panini. I won't name names but it's one of those trendy places that boasts of fresh ingredients and artisan bread. It costs an arm and a leg for one sandwich and in the end you think, "I could have made that at home." I'll tell you what, their sandwich doesn't hold a candle to this one. It takes more work than your basic grilled cheese but it's worth it!

GRILLED CHICKEN PESTO PANINI

2 chicken breasts cut in half to make 4 pieces of chicken
2 T. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. dried Italian seasoning

Pound chicken to about 1/4 inch thick. Mix above ingredients and marinade the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. I put it in a Pyrex baking dish, you could also use a large Ziploc. After one hour, saute chicken on medium for about 5 minutes until done.

Bottled roasted red peppers
Bottled pesto sauce
4 slices Provolone cheese
8 thick slices Italian bread (I used homemade bread from the Traditional White Bread recipe)

Brush olive oil on the outsides of the bread. Put a slice of Provolone on the inside of one piece of bread, then the cooked chicken, then the red peppers. Spread a spoonful of pesto on the inside of the other slice. I used my George Forman to squish and grill the sandwich. If you don't have one, place the sandwich in a pan over medium heat. Place another pan on top to squish it together. Cook on both sides until toasted.