Grilled Chicken and Turkey Bacon Paninis

This is by far my favorite dish to make, and my husband's favorite dish to eat.

Ingredients:

1 loaf artisian bread (I use sourdough,  ciabatta, or Italian bread)

1 pound chicken, grilled 

6 strips of Turkey bacon, fried

1 block of pepper jack cheese, cut into thin slices

2 red bell peppers, cut into thin slices

fresh basil leaves

olive oil

Panini Griddler

1. Preheat panini griddle to medium heat.

2. Slice the bread diagonally with a large knife. This way you get more surface area with your bread and your slices are bigger. Cut them about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch thick. When you buy the bread from the bakery section you can also ask them to slice the bread for you. They have a machine that will cut it into nice, thin slices for you.

3. Pair two pieces of bread together, and decide which side of the bread will be on the outside of the panini. Brush that side of the bread lightly with oil. This will be the side that will touch the griddle.

4. On the bottom slice, lay down a slice of pepper jack cheese, then chicken, then basil, and then a few slices of red bell pepper.

5. Place the second slice of bread on top. The oiled side should be facing up. 

6. Repeat steps 2-5, replacing chicken with turkey bacon.

7. Place two paninis on hot griddler. Close down the top of the griddle using the handle. Push down carefully and firmly for 30 seconds.

8. Allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and you see gorgeous grill lines on the bread. 

9. Remove from griddle and let cool, then enjoy! 

Tips:

1. Grilling the chicken and making the paninis all in the same day are a little time consuming. Try to cook the chicken the day before. 

2. Paninis are meant to be thin. Do not overload them with ingredients; choose 3 items tops to fill your panini. You are not making a sub. I would recommend choosing one type of cheese, one type of meat, and a vegetable (such as tomatoes, spinach, or bell pepper).

3. You can use your favorite cheese, but I find that pepper jack cheese tastes the best and really adds a lot of flavor to the panini.

4. Basil is also a key ingredient, the flavor pops in your mouth.