The other day when I made these panini sandwiches I dug through my freezer and found some chicken I had leftover from making Chicken Salad.  It is under the heading Chicken for Chicken salad but believe me, this chicken can be used in any recipe that calls for precooked chicken.  When I made my Chicken salad I, as usual, cooked too much chicken.  No problem.  It went to the freezer in a large ziploc bag, ready for the next time I needed cooked chicken for something.  When I was digging through the freezer I found a second ziploc with one lonely piece of barbecued chicken from a few months ago.  I thawed it all  and chopped it up for my sandwiches.  You can  use Herb Roasted Chicken Breast or Barbecued Chicken and you can even use a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store.

Another tip for you is, buy a loaf of good focaccia or french bread or crusty bread of some sort.  I prefer it has a crust that is not terribly hard.  Something that can be cut into without too much difficulty.  Other than these guidelines, use whatever bread you like.

This loaf, pictured below, I thought was a bit too much bread for just a few sandwiches so I removed some of the insides.  This left a bit of a hole that ended up being the perfect cradle for the filling.

AND here’s another tip.  Panini makers!  Do you own or have access to one?  They are often on sale at the Bay or other kitchen stores.  Watch for a deal and pick one up.  Grilling sandwiches will, in a moment become so much easier and faster to make.  A panini maker is a great kitchen item.

I am including a link for panini makers at Walmart

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cuisinart-Griddler-Grill-and-Panini-Press/31261685?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=31261685&placeme

So here we go.  This recipe will feed  six people.

One large rectangular crusty loaf of bread

2 TBLSP. olive oil
1 each, orange and yellow pepper
1 medium cooking onion
thin slices of gruyere cheese
relish or chutney to taste
I use a relish that my mother used to make and her mother before her.
We call it Nano Relish and it is not yet on the blog but I promise to add it very soon. We use Nano relish as an accompaniment to ham, roast beef, pork, on sandwiches and on anything that tastes better with a helping of relish.

cut bread into four quarters. If it is a very large loaf, cut it into six.
cut each of the four (or six) pieces, in half to open. Remove some of the bread from inside and set pieces aside.  Spread a generous amount of relish or chutney on bottom piece of bread.

In frying pan on medium heat, cook vegetables for 10 minutes. While they are cooking, stir often. If necessary, reduce heat to medium low.

Add vegetables.  Add a generous amount of broken chicken
top with cheese. Just enough cheese to add flavour but not enough to melt out all over your panini maker.  Add top of bun

place on preheated grill and close lid. Give it a gentle push to slightly squish sandwich.  Cook for five minutes and lift lid to check. When the sandwich is ready, the cheese will be melting and the top of the sandwich will be getting brown.

Remove from grill and place on cutting board. Allow to sit for a minute and with a sharp knife cut each sandwich into whatever size triangles you wish.

Serve with fresh vegetables or salad.

Delicious!