The O-M-G Panini

O-M-G! This is the best panini i've ever had and the recipe is all mine. 

Wow! Momma would be proud. So, if you like panini's (or another name for them is fancy grill cheeses) then continue reading. Warning: The food I blog about is NORMAL average joe food airing on the side of healthIER but in no way am I a health foodie or a junk foodie either. Enjoy! 

Recipe: (Makes 4 mini Panini's)

What you will need:

1 Large Chicken breast (Butterflied and Cut into smaller pieces to fit bread)
1 Large ripe Avocado
1 Medium Plum Tomato
1/4 Cup sliced white cheese of your choice (depending on your flavour preferences)
4-6 small slices of fresh parmesean
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
2-3 Tablespoons of Spices for Chicken (I chose to use Club House Roasted Garlic and Peppers)
pinch of salt and pepper
* Loaf of bread from the bakery (I chose a Black Olive loaf- yum)
Toppings: Mayo, Dijon, Sriracha Sauce. (All of these can be substituted to your preference)

What to do:

First, you need to butcher the chicken. I HATE HATE HATE touching raw meat but with my bf's nose in the books all the time studying and starving, I just go ahead and do it. I butterflied the breast. To butterfly a breast if you don't know how click here to watch a how to video. Then I cut them in pieces because the breast was HUGE. In the photo above you see them cut but not butterflied. I butterflied it after I started cooking because I realized it was too thick. So do as I say and not as I do lol. I then applied Salt and Pepper and the Club House spices and patted them on both sides. I heated the non stick pan to medium low with 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil. Once heated I placed the chicken breasts and cooked. The time it takes to cook depends on the thickness. I always cut my chicken to ensure it is white all the way through- instead of over cooking it.





While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the avocado, tomato and cheeses by slicing and setting aside. Once the chicken is cooked, place with the ingredients. I then cut them further to fit my little slices of bread.  I then cleaned my pan and prepared for the panini. If you have a panini press than you are soooo lucky! and you can stop reading now because the rest you can figure out :P

Heat the pan up again to medium low heat. Take two slices and lightly butter one side of each piece.  Place on a cutting board butter side down (I know this is weird!). Then spread your toppings on the bread mayo, dijon and sriracha. The place all your veggies and chicken in the following order- trust me.  The right slice of bread will be the bottom to go on the pan first.  Add your Cheese then your chicken, then your avocado, then your tomato. This way your cheese melts as its closest to your pan, and your tomatoes warm up too (from the cold in the fridge) and depending on how fast you were the chicken will still be warm. Place the bread with your mayo and such on top of the tomato. Then place on the pan. I like to cover my pan with a lid so that the heat circulates and the ingredients really get hot. Be careful not to forget about it! With the lid on you can't smell if its burning!
Wait a few minutes and keep checking on it. Once toasted well, flip the sandwich. This is the hardest part. I used a silicon spatula and my hand. If you loose a few ingredients like I did just shove them back in and keep going ;)

I hope you enjoy your panini, I am still full from my two little ones and that was a few hours ago!
What do you like putting in your panini? Comment below and let me know!

Thanks for reading,