Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I wanted to share with you my favorite ways to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers. My Turkey Bacon Cranberry Panini is no ordinary sandwich! It is warm, comforting and best of all, really quick to make. (You know you will be busy shopping all of those Black Friday sales and need an easy and filling meal.)
The ingredients are turkey breast (you can use dark meat if you like or if you don't have any leftover turkey, you can use a good quality turkey lunch meat), bacon, Swiss cheese, cranberry sauce (you can use canned or homemade), Dijon mustard, butter and sour dough bread (or ciabatta rolls are nice too).
I do have a little secret trick I use when I make paninis. I don't have a panini press, so I use my George Foreman Grill. The grill does sit at a slight angle but I don't find that it usually affects my panini. As long as I press the cover down onto the bread nice and tight, it cooks a beautifully pressed panini! You can grab nice big George Foreman Grill for around $35.
One of the things I love about these Turkey Bacon Cranberry Paninis are that I can just set out all of the fixings and let everyone make their own. Perfect, easy meal for the day after Thanksgiving! Here is how I like to assemble mine. Spread on Dijon mustard followed by cranberry sauce (use it like a jam), then cheese, turkey, and bacon. Then butter the top of the panini. Set the buttered side down on your panini press or George Foreman Grill and butter the other side. Close press or grill cover and cook 3-5 minutes or until bread is browned and cheese is melted.
Remove your panini and cut in half. I absolutely love the slightly spicy mustard with the tangy cranberry sauce, it is a fantastic combination that goes perfectly with the turkey breast, crunchy bacon and melted cheese!
- Sliced Turkey Breast
- Cooked Bacon Slices
- Swiss Cheese
- Dijon Mustard
- Whole Cranberry Sauce (canned or homemade)
- Butter, softened
- Sourdough Bread
- Spread mustard on two slices of bread.
- Next, spread cranberry sauce on top of mustard.
- Put a Swiss cheese on each slice of bread. (Having cheese on both sides helps to hold everything together when it melts.)
- Last, layer the turkey and 1-2 slices of bacon onto the bread.
- Put both sides together and butter the top of the bread.
- Put the buttered side down onto the grill/press.
- Butter the other side of the bread.
- Press the top of the grill/press down onto the sandwich. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.
- If you don't have leftover turkey, you can use turkey lunch meat.
- If you don't have a panini press, you can use a George Foreman Grill.
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