Shredded Chicken Pesto Sandwich

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My Mom's Birthday is today and she decided that she wanted to go to an outdoor Halloween Event here called Enchanted Halloween.  Last year we did the same and ended up having hot dogs and hamburgers as well as cupcakes that I brought to celebrate her Birthday (it was a little more last minute).  But this year I wanted the dinner to be a bit more special and I wanted to try to avoid the burgers and hot dogs this time around so I decided we would have a nice Picnic dinner.  

On the meal plan was Pesto Chicken Croissant-wiches and Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake.  

Here is the recipe for the Pesto Chicken Croissant-wiches I made this afternoon for the picnic. 

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• INGREDIENTS:
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• 2 chicken Breasts, one roasted chicken or 2 cups shredded chicken
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Pesto (about half a small jar)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• Croissants or baguette bread
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• Optional toppings:
• Tomatoes
• Spinach or mixed greens
• Sliced cheese (I used aged applewood smoked cheddar)
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DIRECTIONS:

In a mixer tear off chunks of cooked chicken breast and place into mixing bowl.  Then turn on medium-high until the chicken breast looks like shredded chicken (pictured below).  Alternatively you can do this by hand but this is by far the best way to get your chicken shredded nicely and have a good consistency.  

The Pesto you use is up to you.  You can make your own which I have done in the past or you can purchase a jar of it from the local grocer.  This particular brand I really like.  In fact we tried the Mezzetta Tomato sauce for Spaghetti just the other night and it passed the test!  Typically Spaghetti sauce and as with many processed items have loads of sugar, salt and other unnecessary ingredients listed on the label.  And I have tried dozens of organic and/or ingredient approved sauces over the last few years and most just don't pass the kid/hubby test.  So I move on and try another or stick to my own homemade.  But I picked the Mezzetta one up a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to try it out this week!  

We ALL loved it!  

Shocking really because we all like very different styles of pasta sauce around here!  So I'll for sure be getting that one again!

As for the Pesto, I've actually had it in the fridge for a few weeks and when I pulled it out to use it this afternoon to make these Sandwiches I was happy to see that it was the same brand!  Very cool!

I was simply going to just put pesto in with the shredded chicken BUT after a taste test I felt that it needed a bit more creaminess to it so I added a scoop of mayonnaise to the mixture and gave it another whirl to stir it in. 

Then I packed all the Croissant-wiches up and tucked them into our Picnic bag for our night out!

The Pumpkin Cake Cheese Cake recipe can be found here!