I confess: I don’t do the grilling for this household. It’s not because I don’t like it or because I’m opposed to the food that comes from the grill, and more because it’s cooking I can actually get the hubby to do. The best part is that, since I’m normally the cook, he takes my suggestions on new creations that can be grilled up. This sandwich is one of those. Sure, you could make it indoors, on a panini press, or on the stove, under the broiler, using a toaster oven or a toaster and a microwave…but don’t tell my husband.

Ingredients

-Crusty white bread, preferably sourdough, sliced

-Avocado

-Pre-cooked chicken chunks/slices, seasoned with southwest spices

-Cheese curds

-Chipotle Tabasco sauce, or chipotle in some other form (powdered or another form of sauce)

-Olive Oil

-Minced garlic

-Whatever else your little heart desires! Salsa, sour cream, guacamole for additional avocado goodness, etc.

The step I like to do first is marinate the cheese curds in the chipotle (extra-tasty leftovers). This doesn’t need to be done for too long, and if you forget, you can always sprinkle your chipotle sauce on the sandwiches before they hit the grill. Set the cheese curds aside.

For convenience, I buy the pre-cooked, pre-seasoned chicken at the store, because sandwiches to me are lazy food. However, if you want to make it by hand, step one is to grill or otherwise cook the chicken, and cut to bits. Once you have cooked, un-seasoned chicken bits, here’s a southwest seasoning:

-2 tablespoons chili powder
-2 teaspoons ground cumin
-2 tablespoons paprika
-1 tablespoon ground coriander
-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix the spices together, then toss the chicken chunks in the spice mix (you get more complete coverage if you do this after cooking and cutting, but you can season the chicken before cooking it too). Mix the minced garlic and olive oil together in a bowl, and brush it on the outside of the bread slices. Cut up your avocado into slices for easier stacking, and pile your ingredients on the bread.

You can toss it straight on the grill as-is, however, it can be really hard to keep everything in the sandwich. So I recommend wrapping it in a layer of foil before you throw it on there.

Foil also slows the heating process, so you can use direct heat (put the sandwiches right over the hot part of the grill), and there’s no real exact timing for it. You just have to leave it on for a few minutes, and check to see if the bread’s toasting and the cheese is melting. And don’t forget to flip it, so you get the whole thing perfectly crispy and gooey. And how dark you want the toast to go is your call, I like mine pretty lightly toasted, but I also don’t think that sticking your marshmallow right in the fire and burning it is the right way to go, so you can think I’m crazy if you want.