Italian paninis with chicken, carmelized onions, and mozzarella

Here's the rundown on last night's meal. Mind you you'll probably see a theme going - I'm picking things that (a) have some component that lets my three year old help and (b) I pick things that can be done in very quick stages between bottles, diapers, switching from Noggin to a Disney movie, getting a snack... you get the idea.

If you're making this on a weeknight, you can use ready-made italian bread rather than make the bread yourself.

Italian Paninis with Chicken, Carmelized Onions, and Mozzarella



You will need (makes four reasonably sized sandwiches):

Two Vidalia onions, sliced thin
1/2 small jar of roasted red peppers
Mayonnaise
Medium-sized ball of fresh mozzarella (about 2" diameter)
Two large chicken breasts
(optional) a small amount of grated, salty italian cheese (I use Asiago)

1/2 of a flatbread recipe (I use the "bread" part of the Basil Flatbread with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil Oil recipe on http://www.epicurious.com/)

cucumbers & tomatoes, sliced up

Things you can do during the course of the day/morning:

1. Make the flatbread dough as per recipe instructions and refrigerate.
2. Pound the chicken to tenderize and dry rub with favorite spices. I like salt, pepper, dried basil, sage, and a little hot pepper. Refrigerate.
3. Carmelize onions on medium heat. They are very forgiving and you don't have to stir them often.
4. Cut up cucumbers and tomatoes.



5. About 30 minutes before you want to serve, bake the chicken breasts on a grill pan at 375 for about 20 minutes. Chop each breast into 4-5 pieces and keep warm.
6a. If you're using flatbread, roll it out until it's about 10" diameter and quite thin. I grill it on a Calphalon grill pan coated with EVOO.



6. Grill the bread on one side coated with EVOO and turn. When second side is grilling, cover half of the flatbreat with a layer of mayo, the roasted peppers, onions, chicken, and mozzarella. Finish with asiago if desired. Place other half/side of bread over sandwich and grill/press other side.

Each 10" flatbread (there are 2 total in 1/2 recipe) will make two paninis. Serve with cucumbers and tomatoes on the side.