A failure turned into delicious pesto mozzarella paninis

We encourage kids to try and fail.

It helps them learn skills. It helps them find their limits. It helps them learn to overcome.

However, I think that as adults, we often don't try for fear of failure. We may think that we've already learned what we need to learn from failure, so there isn't a reason to do something risky. We may think that failure will cost too much.

I am not necessarily a risk taker, but I often do try new things in the kitchen. I get inspiration from Pinterest and try it out.

Sometimes it works.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes there is a happy accident.

I posted about my homemade hamburger buns last week, and we love them so much that I decided to try to make them into hot dog buns.

I wasn't exactly sure how to shape them, so I tried a few different things.

The first ones were hilarious. They came out about 4 inches wide instead of the 1.5 inches I was hoping for. The second batch was a bit better.

I wasn't about to waste the first batch though, so I vacuum-sealed them and froze them, because they looked about the right size for paninis.

I had also gotten some pesto from Aldi, so I created a panini in my head --- Googled it to make sure it made sense and that someone had tried something similar before me --- and tried it out.

It is now on next month's menu as well. It was so unbelievably good, and even microwaved for lunch the next day it was still delicious.

I'll share with you how I made them. I'm sure you could tweak them to your taste as well.

Pesto mozzarella paninis
2 homemade panini rolls
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda
4 Tbsp. pesto
4 slices hard salami, optional

1. Heat up a panini pan or a stovetop grill pan. You can also use a skillet if you want to, they will just be more like grilled cheese, which is totally fine. Make sure to butter your bread if you have a skillet.
2. Slice the roll and put a generous helping of pesto on one side.
3. On the bottom side of the roll, layer half of shredded cheese, salami and more shredded cheese.
4. Place top on the bun and squish down.
5. Place on hot panini pan and squish down with panini pan press. Leave press on top and cook for five minutes or until golden brown and cheese is beginning to melt.
6. Flip, squish down with press and cook for five minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
7. Remove from pan, slice in half and enjoy!

The second batch I ran out of gouda and just used mozzarella. It was also good. You could even sub out turkey for salami or just leave out the meat all together. However, my husband is not a fan of no meat, so that is a must for us.