Pesto Grilled Cheese and Vegetable Paninis

With summer in full swing, I’m hoping your gardens are bursting at the seams with some delicious, fresh produce. Sunday night I had tons of leftover vegetables from my shop-a-thon last week and wanted a way to use up all my veggies before they went bad.

There isn’t a better way to eat garden vegetables than grilled on an outdoor grill with some olive oil and lots of herbs. I did this and then added these grilled vegetables to a flat panini bread from a local bakery and a bunch of cheese and pesto. The combination was heavenly and you didn’t even miss the fact there was no meat in this sandwich. This panini is a vegetarian dream come true. Hope you’re having a great summer!

If you don’t have a garden, that’s okay! Nearly every vegetable you’d want this time of year is ON SALE at your local grocery store. Check out our DEALS page to see where the best grocery deals are in your area.

Grilled Vegetable Cheese Paninis

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Author: Deals to Meals

Ingredients

• 1 package bollilo or bread/rolls
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese sliced or shredded
• 8 oz. provolone or havarti cheese sliced
• 1/4 cup pesto
• VEGETABLES OF CHOICE
• 1-2 zucchini squash sliced
• 1-2 yellow squash sliced
• Colored bell peppers cut in half
• 1 red onion sliced
• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes sliced
• Olive oil
• Dried Herbs

Instructions

• Rinse the vegetables and remove all of the skins, ends and stems. Slice the vegetables fairly thin and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite herbs and seasonings (garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, thyme, etc.). Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Place the large vegetable pieces onto the grill and let them cook on both sides for a few minutes, or until they get some nice grill lines. Once the vegetables are tender, remove from the heat and place on the same cookie sheet you started with. Toss them a little bit in the leftover oil on the pan and seasonings.
• For the sandwich, spread a generous portion of pesto on both sides of the bread. Place the sliced and shredded cheese on the bottom bun. Layer the sandwich with grilled vegetables and put the lid on. Place the sandwich into a warm panini maker and heat until the cheese is melted. You can also do this on a flat griddle if you have one. Once the cheese is melted, remove and serve.

Check out our other favorite Sandwich Recipes.