Chicken Pesto Panini

My husband has told his fellow co-workers about this blog and frequently talks about my cooking. After all that talking and bringing leftovers, they said I needed to feed them lunch. I fed his department - about 14 people. Not a huge undertaking. But seeing how we are moving this week, I didn't want to buy a lot of things or do a lot of cooking. (We are packing up the kitchen!) So I put together a simple lunch of panini and salad. These panini are so simple but were a big hit. I guess you could say I had my first catering event!
This is a great recipe because it is so simple to make for a few or multiple people. Because I made it simple I used a roatisserie chicken and prepared pesto. If you wanted to be really gourmet you could do these yourself, but I don't think you can really tell the difference. One of the women at his work is vegetarian, so she had one without meat - it was still delicious.

Chicken Pesto Panini

1 loaf Ciabatta bread, cut horizontally then in about 6 pieces
6 Tbsp prepared pesto
Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup (ish) Sun-dried tomatoes
1-2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat

Prehead a panini press. To build the panini: Spread one tablespoon of the pesto on each piece of ciabatta bread (I like it split between both sides). Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on each side of the bread. Then layer a few spinach leaves, a few sun-dried tomato slices, and the chicken. Put your slices together and place onto hot panini press. Press sandwhiches until warmed through, cheese has melted, and the bread is crisp.

Tips:

• No Panini Press? Not a problem - check out how to make a panini press from what you already have in your kitchen!
• You can prepare these ahead (up to a few hours), wrap them up, and cook them when ready.
• To make even more gourmet - use fresh mozzerella (I was going to, but that's so expensive for 14 people!)
• Buy the sun-dried tomatoes in oil, the dry ones are not the best texture.
• Have your local bakery slice your bread loaf for you to cut on time.