Mozzarella and Pesto Panini



Okay, so I'm finally getting around to posting some of my favorite go-to meatless meals for Fridays during Lent. I promise, I really will do the "round up" as soon as possible (as in, before the season of Lent is over). I made the decision about 8 months ago to buy a Cuisinart panini press, and frankly I don't know what took me so long. First of all, they're very inexpensive. Secondly, I just used one of my handy dandy Bed Bath and Beyond 20% coupons, and it was even more reasonably priced. I've been having a lot of fun coming up with different panini recipes, and Will has repeatedly asked me why I didn't buy the panini press sooner. To be fair, you can definitely make this sandwich (and pretty much any other ones) on a plain old griddle if you don't have a panini press, or you just don't feel like making the investment. I just love using the press, and I also like using olive oil as opposed to butter on the bread. I started playing around with sandwich recipes, partly because we had a busy day last Friday and I didn't feel like throwing together a full-on meal, but I wanted something tasty, healthy and filling. I picked up some buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, an avocado, and ingredients for pesto from the grocery store (I always use this recipe for pesto from the Food Network website), and came home and began preparing our dinner. I mean, how can you not look at these ingredients and think "YUM??" 
It's incredibly simple; after making the basil pesto, spread it on one slice of bread. Add about 2-3 slices of buffalo mozzarella, 2 slices of tomatoes, a few slices of avocado, and brush the outside pieces of bread with extra virgin olive oil. (Preheat the panini press while doing this).
Cook on the panini press for a few minutes, and voila! You have a delicious sandwich at your disposal. Enjoy, friends!

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