Mediterranean Chicken Paninis

For Christmas, the lady in my life gave my family a panini press. I can no longer imagine life without one. There's no easier way to make a sandwich taste gourmet. I've made breakfast, lunch, and dinner paninis. My latest adventure into the world of toasted sammiches is the Mediterranean Chicken Panini.

Ingredients:

4 Large Pieces of Round Flatbread

2 Packages of Purdue Short-Cuts Sliced Chicken Breasts

1/2 Medium-sized Onion

1 Small Container of Red Pepper Hummus

1 Small Can of Sliced Black Olives

2 Tomatoes

Mozzerella Cheese

Basil

Steps/Analysis:

Start by cutting your onion into thin slices and sauteeing them in a large pan with some olive oil. Before they're quite done, open up your Purdue Short-Cuts and throw them in as well. The sandwiches are going to be pretty thick and you want and you want the end result to be warm and melty, so it's a good idea to take the refrigerator chill off of the chicken.

In the meantime, cut the flatbread rounds in half. Each round is going to make one panini. Also, cut your tomatoes and cheese as thinly as you can manage.

For the basil, I attempted a chiffonade - a knife technique that I've seen on Food Network a few times, but never tried myself. Basically, stack a bunch of basil leaves one on top of the other and roll them up. Then, make small slices across the cylinder. You should have tiny strips of basil, but don't worry too much if your first try at the maneuver isn't too pretty. It's going to be covered in cheese anyway.

Spread the hummus across one flatbread half and sprinkle with olives. Spoon on enough chicken and onions to make a hearty sandwich on top of that. Next, layer on basil and tomato and, finally, the mozzarella cheese. Cover with the second flatbread half and carefully load it into the heated panini press. There should be enough supplies for four sammiches.

Serving:

Though this is a thick, hearty panini, it's not quite enough to make a meal on it's own. I paired it with some Progresso Italian Wedding soup, which complemented things nicely.

When all is said and done, this dinner took me 20 minutes from start to finish. The payoff is definitely worth the minimal time investment and you may even have left overs for lunch the next day.

B.A. Gourmet Instant Classic: Enchiladas

Since it's going to become very apparant within a few more posts anyway, I may as well fill you in; I have a weakness for Mexican food. Chipotle Mexican Grill is easily one of my favorite restaurants and Taco Bell is my favorite fast food. If there's a burrito on the menu, chances are I'll order it.



As a result, many of my early dinner attempts naturally leaned south of the border. I consider those recipes some of my greatest successes. Case in point, my enchiladas.


Ingredients:
10 8"-10" Tortillas
2 Packages of Purdue Short-Cuts Chicken Breast Strips*
1 Medium-Large Onion
1 Bell Pepper
10 Ounce Can of Enchilada Sauce
16 Ounce Can of Refried Beans
1 Packet of Fajita Seasoning
Shredded Cheese (I prefer a 'Mexican blend' for this and most other applications)
Sliced Olives
Sliced Jalapenos (Canned works well in this recipe)


Steps/Analysis:
A simple sautee: oil in pan over medium heat, sliced onion and bell peppers in pan until slightly browned and just a little soft. You're going to finish everything up in the oven, so you still want them to have enough structure to withstand that.


Dump your chicken and fajita seasoning into the pan. The seasoning packet will have its own instructions for the proper ratio of water to seasoning. Stir to warm the chicken strips and coat with the seasoning mixture.


Find a large, rectangular baking dish (look for something that will fit your rolled up tortillas snugly) and pour half of the enchilada sauce into the bottom. Open up all your cans and packages at this point and arrange them close to the pan and baking dish; there will be some dripping during the preparation.


Enchilada Filling and Rolling Instructions:
1. Spread a thin layer of refried beans onto the center of the tortilla.
2. Spoon chicken, onion, and peppers on across the diameter of the tortilla.
3. Sprinkle on a generous layer of cheese. This is going to help seal everything up and hold it all in place.
4. Place jalapenos and olives on top of the cheese. This is optional and interchangeable, of course, depending on what you like on your Mexican food.
5. Roll and place seam side down in your baking dish.
6. Repeat until you run out of tortillas or space in the dish, whichever comes first.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and cover with another layer of cheese.


Place dish into a 400-415 degree, preheated oven. Everything in your enchiladas is already cooked, so you're really only looking for all the cheese to melt. This should take approximately 10-15 minutes.



Serving Suggestions:
Chips, salsa, and guacamole are always welcome to the party. (Why not use the Spruced-up Guac I told you about a few posts ago?) Hot sauce is good too.


Notes:
Literally no complaints. I got rave reviews from my girlfriend and my family, including a mother who doesn't like heat and a brother who can't stand olives. If you're cooking for people with a taste for Mexican, this will knock it out of the park. This will definitely be a repeat performance.


*Purdue Short-Cuts are a must for any beginning cook. They have about a million uses and come in a variety of flavors. In addition, they cut huge chunks of time out of meal preparation at a reasonable price. Look for these to show up in future recipes.