Proscuitto caprese paninis

I specifically saved this recipe for a Friday for these reasons:

1. Friday is an awesome day to pull out the Griddler (if you have one)

2. This takes 5 minutes to prepare but tastes like a million bucks

3. We've been over this before, anything with the word "caprese" in it is like food porn to me

4. You should always save the best things in life for a Friday (like a nice glass of red wine for me tonight after my workout)

Anyway, while I am in love with all things Caprese (see hot caprese dip and caprese skewers)...Justin is not really a fan.  "It's just so...so..." but he couldn't think of the name of the herb that was used.  "Basil-y?"  I ask.  "Ugh, yeah it's just so basil-y...it tastes like plants."  Well that's sort of the point of an all fresh sandwich, now isn't it, honey?!  Boys are so boring sometimes...

Moving on...you only need a few things for this sammy.  Including:

Basil

Bread

Prosciutto

Fresh mozzerella

Tomato

I would use fresh basil if I had it...the store bought fresh stuff seems to go bad so quickly. Oh, how I miss my fresh basil plant right outside my back door...hurry up, Spring!! In order to continue using fresh basil without having to throw it away all the time, I grabbed a tube of this fresh organic basil in olive oil and use it for all my cooking, and let me tell you it doesnt lose any of the flavor...so yummy! 

The prosciutto wasn't in the original recipe, but I'm a carnivore and can't stomach the idea of a meatless meal...so I added the Italian meat and it was perfect (if I do say so myself).

Dab some basil on your bread (I would've liked to use some fancy schmancy bread but this normal wheat sandwich bread worked pretty awesomely too)...and layer your toppings on there. 

All I did was put the sandwich together, spray the Griddler with non-fat cooking spray to prevent stickage (you could use a grill pan if you don't have a Griddler), and let that thing go for 10 minutes until all the cheese was melted...and all was right with the world.

This was one of those days I came home ready to eat my arm off after Kosama class, so I went lazy on the side and just pulled a bag of my frozen sweet corn out to throw in a pot and warm.  It's days like this that I understand why I put in the work in the summer to have fresh sweet corn on hand all Winter...mmmmmmm!
 

Fresh mozzerella melts so awesomely...and I ate a bunch of it while slicing too, it's so fresh tasting with a buttery soft texture, I could eat a whole block of it...but I refrained. I probably could've stopped after a half of one of these sandwiches but there was no way I was wasting that flavor (they are pretty soggy warmed up)...so I savored every. last. bite.  And boy, was it worth it!