Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

I'm a big fan of Ree over at The Pioneer Woman.

She's so stinkin' funny and real and best of all?

Girl can cook.

I tried one of her recipes the other night, and she definitely did not disappoint.

I'm a huge fan of panini. Like Ree says, it's like a quesadilla. Throw whatever you want in there, add a little cheese, and voila! Dinner.
This one is so good. Who needs Panera, when you can make your own at home?

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

(Original recipe by Ree Drummond)

(photo source)

Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 8 whole Sundried Tomatoes, Packed In Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Prepared Basil Pesto
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Mayonnaise
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers
• 8 whole Slices Provolone Or Mozzarella Cheese
• 8 slices Good Whole Grain Sandwich Bread
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

Directions

CHICKEN

Slightly flatten chicken with a mallet (just until uniform thickness.)
In a blender or food processor, puree sundried tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add half the mixture to a ziploc bag with the chicken breasts. Smush around to coat the chicken, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
After marinating, heat heavy skillet or grill to medium. Grill or cook chicken until done. Slice chicken into strips.

SPREAD

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons of the sundried tomato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

If you have a gas cooktop, blacken red peppers directly over the flame. (If you do not have a gas cooktop, blacken them directly under the oven broiler.) Completely blacken/char on all sides, then immediately seal in a ziploc bag. Allow peppers 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. (Don’t be afraid to leave some black bits!) Lop off the top, cut in half, then seed and slice into strips. Set aside.

(fyi, if you're short on time, just buy the roasted red peppers in the jar)

TO ASSEMBLE

To make the panini, spread generous amounts of the sundried 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. To with the other four pieces of bread with the spread face down. Butter both sides of 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.)

Slice sandwiches in half and serve immediately with cold grapes. Delish!

Serves 4.