Panini's and... Lady Fingers???

Good morning once again! Yesterday, I was on my way home on the bus (yes, I had to take the bus!) and was wondering what to make for dinner. It was on the warm side, so I didn't want to make anything too heavy, and I thought to myself, "What have I never made before?" Well, I've never made panini's, and I did receive a handy-dandy George Foreman Grill for my wedding. Anyways, I didn't have a recipe on-hand for it, so I just decided to wing it. So, here it is, my first original Mehgan recipe for Roast Chicken with Bell Pepper and Tomato panini's:

-1 lb boneless, skinless whole chicken breasts

-2 tbsp. olive oil

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic

-1/2 medium onion, thin sliced

-1 bell pepper, thin sliced

-2 tomatoes, thin sliced

-1 cup of mozzarella cheese

-3 tbsp light mayonnaise

-1 tsp garlic salt

-1tsp Italian seasoning

-sliced bread (I used Milk & Honey bread for it's light color and sweet flavor)

In a medium pot, on low to medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic and onions. Once onions become transparent, add the chicken breasts and season to taste (I used salt, pepper, and a bit of Italian seasoning). Then add the bell peppers on top. Cook chicken thoroughly, keeping aware of the veggies so they won't burn or turn too mushy. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, garlic salt and seasoning. Once the chicken is done, slice the cooked chicken into thin strips. Spread a thin layer of the mayonnaise mixture onto the inside of two slices of bread. Layer on the remaining ingredients (tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese) to your desire. (Mine went: mayo, cheese, tomatoes, chicken, bell peppers, onions, more cheese, then the other slice of bread). Place sandwich on grill and close top, cook for 3-4 minutes, keeping an eye out so that the sandwich doesnt burn.

I loved these because I could put whatever I wanted on it. When we ran out of chicken, I made my husband one using lunch meat (turkey slices). The mayonnaise wasn't overpowering, which is good, because I'm not a big fan of mayo in the first place, and the cheese was nice and melty and delicious.

For dessert, I had originally intended on trying my hand at making lady fingers. I had seen the ones in the film "Simply Irresistible" and it made me want to have one NOW. The ones I made, however, turned out more like a shortbread cookie. As it turns out, I used the wrong recipe, but the finished product was still tasty. Buttery, sweet and slightly lemony since I used some lemon zest in the batter and lemon extract in the caramel glaze. So, now I just call them Lemon Caramel Shortbread Cookies and they're going over really well with everyone I have try them (especially when paired with that first cup of coffee in the morning).

I adapted this recipe from recipezaar.com: http://www.recipezaar.com/18659, which I think I should have used a different one, but oh well, they're still tasty. Instead of baking them like a cake and then cutting them into lady fingers, I just piped them out of a pastry bag onto a baking sheet. At first, I made them too short, so they were more like Lady Thumbs, but once I got the hang of it, they started to look more long and elegant.

That's all for now folks, thanks for stopping by!

~Mehgan~