Panini Sammies

We were so glad to get back home after a few days on the road.  We have been rather tired already after lots of goings-on, and it doesn't help much to have the winter blahs.  Add to that the fact that we weren't able to pack our cooler with healthy food the way we usually try to do when we are going to be traveling.  That means we were at the mercy of road-food.  Ugh!  We always come home feeling bloated and sluggish, and griping about how much restaurant food costs.  So even though we got home at dinner-time, we still put together a decent meal that was relatively quick.  We nibbled on our old standby of crackers, cheese and olives while we prepared a chicken salad with roasted veggies.

We have posted before about roasted veggies.  We adore them!  This time we just tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted in the oven till done, usually about 20 minutes at 450, turning once.

We stopped at Winn-Dixie on the way home, and they had a special buy- one get- one free on chicken tenders.  We tossed the tenders with olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and this time used cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and seasoned pepper and some salt.  Then sauteed in a skillet till done, and they don't take long because they are pretty thin.

Another simple standby for us is a dressing whisked up with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You don't really need more seasoning since the chicken is seasoned already.  Mmmm!  So good to get greens out of our own garden!  And with freshly grated parmesan...Welcome home!

Then today, we made the ciabatta bread again, and decided to cook some more of the chicken tenders with the same seasoning as last night, and make some simple paninis.  They would have been great with some more roasted red pepper, but we didn't feel like fooling with that tonight.  Just mayo, chicken, swiss cheese, home grown lettuce, and pepper.  Some freshly made sweet tea, and we are good to go!

Here is our fancy panini press...

Sometimes the simple foods are the most tasty...

Now we can go to sleep tonight with tummies happily sated with home-made goodness, not to mention in our own beds!

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