Sunday Lunch | Roasted Veggie Panini with Goat Cheese and Pesto

#vivabertolli

Sunday dinners have changed so much since I was a kid visiting my grandma's house almost weekly for a home-cooked meal. These days after church, we either scrounge up some sandwiches, head out to the local deli or pizza joint, or just fend for ourselves because by this point we are starving. I have a desire to change all of that, but I think I have to start with tiny tiny baby steps. A family lunch here, a pre-made dinner there, and slowly gather together at the table all at the same time to continue traditions as they were passed to me. 

I am making a vow that I will be more creative again in the kitchen. To try things and discover what will become staples in our house as the kids grow. I did really well introducing Jonah to things as a baby and he loved SO MUCH but then at some point he became picky and it's hard to get good healthy food in him these days. Something both of my kids will eat every day though is Italian inspired food. Put some red sauce on it and they gobble it up! If you've been around here a while, you may have even noticed that! I don't blame them either. 

So here we are looking for more creative ways to use marinara and sneak in some healthy stuff while we have a Sunday lunch together. 

This week on the Sunday Menu: Homemade (Make-Your-Own) Paninis! 

While some of my family (and my sister's family) chose a variety of ingredients, I will share with you how I built my sandwich. 

Roasted Vegetable Panini with Goat Cheese and Pesto

Ingredients:

• Sliced Bread (Traditionally Paninis are made from Italian Breads such as ciabatta)
• Eggplant
• Bell Pepper  (red, yellow, orange are our favorites)
• Tomato
• Soft Goat Cheese
• Pesto (homemade or store bought)
• Bertolli Riserva Marinara  (coupon)

Instructions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 450 degrees
2. Line a baking pan or two with foil and spray or drizzle with olive oil. 
3. Slice veggies and spread onto pan. For eggplant drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with just a little pepper.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
5. While veggies are roasting prepare other ingredients. (homemade pesto recipe coming soon). Let goat cheese soften by taking it out of the fridge. Heat Bertolli Riserva Marinara and add to small bowls for dipping. 
6. Oil a cast iron skillet (or other non-stick).
7. Assemble your sandwich, add butter or oil to your skillet, add sandwich and cook until the bread begins to brown. We used an additional, slightly smaller cast iron skillet to press our sandwiches (if you do this make sure you clean and oil the bottom side of your skillet). You can also use a panini press or just a large spatula. Once cheese is melty, you are done! 
8. Enjoy!

Full disclosre, I attempted to get Jonah to try the veggie sandwich, but he wound up with cheddar and goat cheese to dip into his sauce. My nephew loved it too! 

Pick up a coupon for Bertolli Sauces here and then check out all the amazing recipes at the Viva Bertolli Cooking School and get inspired to try something new!! 

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