BBQ Chicken Panini

We have an amazing Italian deli that we love and visit regularly. Recently while there I grabbed a pound of their breaded chicken tenders from the deli counter. I wanted to use it in a recipe and figured a pound would be about 6 tenders. Well... it ended up being closer to 15 tenders and I was stuck scrambling for ways to use up the chicken before it went bad. Enter these paninis! I really can't say enough about them. They were easy, delicious, and full of flavor. We made these for lunch over the weekend a few weeks back and were both silent as we devoured them. I added the basil as a last second decision, mostly because I had it on hand and figured why not, but I liked the flavor it added to the sandwich. Best of all we typically have all these ingredients on hand making this a perfect weeknight meal.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients per panini:
4-5" piece of Italian bread
3 chicken tenders, cooked and heated
3 tbsp BBQ sauce
1-2 slices bacon, sliced
1 slice sharp cheddar
2 slices tomato
3-4 basil leaves

Directions:
1- Heat your panini press.
2- Meanwhile, slice the Italian bread in half and scoop our the majority of the innards. Leave a thin layer of bread on each half.
3- In a small bowl toss the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce. Place the tenders on the bottom slice of bread.
4- Top with bacon, cheddar, tomatoes, and basil. Replace top of the bread.
5- Cook on the panini grill until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp.