Thursday, March 7, 2013

Garlic Chicken Panini


When I first discovered the recipe for crockpot 40 cloves of garlic chicken it was through this recipe for a garlic chicken panini. It's no secret that I love my panini press and am willing to try sticking anything between two slices of bread and grilling it up, so this definitely peaked my interest. If I'm being 100% honest I really only made the chicken so I could make these paninis! And boy am I glad I did, these were divine. I had never used Laughing Cow cheese on a panini before but I really think that'll be my new go-to cheese. I love those little Laughing Cow cheese wedges and have used them for several things, but they are excellent on paninis because they add a ton of flavor with minimal calories.

If you wanted to try this without making the crockpot 40 cloves recipe linked above I'm sure you could use any garlicky chicken you'd like. However what really sold this recipe for me was mixing it all up with the garlicky broth, so I think you should just make both recipes. You won't be disappointed!

Source: Adapted from Slender Kitchen

Ingredients per panini:
1/4 french baguette, slightly hollowed out
1/2 cup 40 garlic chicken + 2 tbsp garlic broth left from the crockpot
1 wedge Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb cheese
1 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (or use fresh spinach)

Instructions
1-Cut your french baguette in half and hollow out your french baguette by tearing out the extra bread.
2- Spread the Laughing Cow cheese on both sides of the bread.
3- In a small bowl combine the chicken, spinach, and broth. Stir well. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds (the filling likely won't be hot enough just from the panini grill since it's not on long enough). 
4- Fill the bottom side of the baguette the the chicken mixture. Do not pour excess broth onto the sandwich (mine all absorbed into the mixture but if yours doesn't drain it or you'll get a soggy sandwich).
5- Cook on panini press until bread is crisp and filling is warm.

3 comments:

  1. OHHHH this is right up my alley!!! I love garlic and I love paninis!!!!

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  2. I love laughing cow, this looks divine

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  3. You had me at 40 cloves of garlic. This sounds great, too bad I don't have a panini press (and I don't have room in my kitchen to store one). I do have a couple of old fashioned irons, the kind that are cast iron and heavy (used as bookends currently)...I've considered using them to weigh down and press a panini. The plan is still in in its formative stage, but maybe eventually.

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