Roasted Grape Tomato Panini

*This recipe was on the Rachel Ray show this week. It looked so tasty that we just had to try it.

Grape tomatoes, Roasted and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices
Bread slices (I made this with bread from my bread maker...yumm!)

To roast the grape tomatoes in the oven: Set oven to 400 degrees; sprinkle a little olive oil or canola oil over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tomato skins split open. Remove from pan and crush the tomatoes - I used a potato masher, but you could pulse it in a food processor. After the tomatoes are crushed, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper to the tomatoes and mix well.


Heat panini maker. Spread some of the tomato mixture on 2 slices of bread; tear 2 or 3 fresh basil leaves into pieces and place over the tomato mix; sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over one of the slices; top with pepperonis and a little more cheese. Cover with the second slice of bread. Place in panini maker and cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Alternatives: replace pepperoni with mini meatballs for a meatball sandwich taste.

Chris's Yummy Paninis

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it is my son, Chris's.

Cooked, diced or shredded chicken breast
Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped bell pepper
Mozzarella cheese, shredded (any flavor will do if you prefer another)
Sour dough bread (I like to use the bakery style from the grocery store)
Pesto dressing

Pesto dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use canola mayo)
2 Tbs prepared Pesto (ironically the kind I buy is called Chris's!!)

Heat panini maker. Spread a thin coat of the pesto dressing on two slices of bread. On the first slice; add shredded mozzarella cheese (small handful); then sprinkle onions and bell pepper over the cheese; top with diced chicken and a little more mozzarella cheese. Cover with the remaining slice. Grill until bread is golden brown and cheese has melted.

Alternatives:

Ham and cheese - add spicy brown mustard to the pesto sauce
Veggie - mushrooms, onions, peppers
Pizza - add pizza sauce and cooked mini meatballs instead of the pesto and chicken