Chicken Paninis with Pesto and Cheese

This is my favorite kind of panini! I have a few tips though to make these sandwiches easier and healthier. For the bread, you can use any sturdy bread. Spray one side of each slice of bread with no-stick spray before putting it on the grill. For the pesto, Classico makes a very strong jarred pesto and you only need 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of it on a sandwich, which lightens it up significantly. Sliced turkey lunch meat is easier to handle and you don't have to cook something special before hand, and thinly sliced bell peppers stay in the sandwich better. I don't usually put cheese on mine, but I put a thin slice of mozzarella on my boyfriend's turkey pesto paninis. Mozzarella is lower in fat and calories than Monterey jack. I hope this helps someone, these are really great sandwiches!  -  29 Mar 2008  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

I'm not giving these a five only because I changed things up a lot but they were delish. I caramelized my onions and mixed my pesto with herbed cream cheese. I then spread my pesto and cream cheese mix on both sides of the focaccia then I put my chicken, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers on with the shredded cheese. Warmed this all up on the Forman and had a salad with tons of veggies and Balsamic Dressing on the side. Okay, Yum!  -  30 Mar 2007  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

Very good! I didn't have focaccia bread so used regular bread (the outside buttered) and grilled the sandwhiches on the stovetop using a plate weighed down with a can to press the sandwhich together as it cooked.  -  13 Jun 2006  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)