Roasted Chicken Dinner Sandwiches

I really love to make dinner for my hubby.  He is my biggest fan and makes me feel like I'm a five star chef when I'm really just a wanna-be.  One of his favorite things that I make are sandwiches.  I owe my sandwich skills to my days working as a barista at Immaculate Consumption in college. I leaned to make some mean sandwiches and will forever be inspired.

Monday nights are great for sandwich dinners - they're quick, easy and tastey!  This Monday I made roasted chicken with a marinated cucumber salad on ciabatta bread. They're really pretty easy to make and you only need some chicken, veggies and bread!

Read on to learn how I made them:



Ingredients:

• full roasted chicken (buy this from the grocery store - you'll thank yourself when you get home from work)
• 1/2 english cucumber
• 1 small onion
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chicken broth/stock
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• ciabatta bread
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Julienne the cucumber with a mandoline (or just cut long thin strips with a knife).
2. Thinly slice the onion.
3.  Add the cucumber, onion, vinegar and oil in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside to marinate.
   
4. Shred a full roasted chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can use forks to do this or just use your hands - that's what works for me.
   
5. Heat a medium-sized skillet with chicken broth/stock.
6. Add the shredded chicken and cranberries. Heat through until the stock has reduced completely on low-medium heat.
7. While the chicken is heating, chiffonade* some baby spinach and add to marinade. I like to add this at the end so it doesn't get too soggy. (*This means cut it into strips/ribbons)
   
   
8. Cut some grape tomatoes in half and add them to the marinade as well.
   
9. Cut your bread in sandwich size portions and then slice in half to make a top and bottom of the sandwich. Place in the broiler for a few minutes. Tip: keep the oven door cracked and don't walk away because the bread will burn quicker than you think!
   
10. Remove the bread from the oven. Place it on a cutting board. Drizzle the bread with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
11. Pile on some of the marinated salad on the bottom half of the sandwich. Add the chicken and cranberry mixture on top and close up your sandwich.
    
12. Cut in half and serve with a side salad. (I had extra marinated veggies so I just added it to some mixed greens.)