Pesto Chicken Panini

I've been on a panini kick right now, trying out different ingredients so I can break out of my box of ham paninis. (Even though I still love those). If you've ever eaten at Zupa's Cafe, they have a Pesto Chicken Panini that is my FAVORITE. Seriously, I'm obsessed with them. They're so delicious. But I try to limit my "eating out", so I attempted to make one at home. And it came so close that I squealed with delight!

So of course I had to share it!

Pesto Chicken Panini:

Makes 1 sandwich

2 slices of bread (any kind you want, but for this carb count, I used bread that was 15g of carbs a slice)

1/4 grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced

2 slices muenster cheese

2 TBL slivered almonds

2 TBL alfalfa sprouts

2 TBL fresh diced tomatoes

2 TBL fresh roasted red pepper (instructions on how to roast below)

2 TBL prepared Pesto Ranch Dressing

olive oil cooking spray

Start by roasting your red pepper. Place it on the top rack of your oven and broil about 1-2 minutes on all four sides or until they start to turn black. When all sides are blackened, remove the pepper and place in a ziploc bag, sealing it. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so it can steam. Remove it from the bag and slice it length-wise in fourths. Using a knife, scrape the insides of each slice, then scrap the blacked skin of the outsides. Dice and set aside.

Lay out your bread and place one slice of muenster cheese on each slice. Then on one side, layer the chicken, almonds, sprouts, tomatoes and red peppers. Then drizzle with pesto ranch dressing. Close the sandwich and grill with a panini press or on a griddle that has been sprayed with the olive oil cooking spray. 

For 1 sandwich: 604.5 calories, 39g carbs, 34.5g fat, 31.5g protein