Homemade Philly Cheesesteak [RECIPE]

Dinner is always a challenge. Not the actual cooking of it but concepting what to cook.

Baked chicken, steak, pasta, tacos, and baby back ribs are some of our go-to's. 

We had chicken and pasta the night before so didn't want either tonight. Beef was the likely option and, as much as I love a good steak, I wanted to try something different, so I took a little more time to browse what Trader Joes had on their shelves. 

Near the salads, they have fully cooked, heat-and-eat meals, like chicken piccata, turkey and mashed potatoes, and beef stroganoff. Been there, done that, and don't want to again.

Further down, next to the raw meat, they have fully cooked meat, like the above-mentioned baby back ribs we like and some uncooked seasoned and unseasoned meats in vacuum-packed packaging.

An unseasoned, uncooked, thinly sliced, vacuum-packed sirloin beef caught my eye. On the front of the packaging it said it was good for tacos, cheesesteaks, and Korean barbecue.

I wanted a philly steak the night before when we did takeout but my 4yo wanted our usual, her favorite, chicken piccata so we had that instead. 

So, tonight, it was my turn and I decided to try this thinly sliced beef and make a philly cheesesteak of my own. 

To keep it simple, I just got a green bell pepper and a baguette. If I wanted to put a little more effort into it, I would have included sliced crimini mushrooms for depth and some onions for flavor.

For cheese, I used sliced havarti, since that's what we have at home. Mozzarella or provolone would be just as good.

The recipe is super simple, fast, and great for novice and seasoned cooks alike. Tag me (@mdesenna) if you try this! xo

Ingredients:

- Beef, very thinly sliced, patted dry

- Bell pepper (any color), julienned

- Cheese, sliced, havarti 

- Bread, slightly toasted

- Salt and pepper

- Cooking oil

1. Heat oil in pan and add peppers. Toss and coat with oil. Cook until slightly softened.

2. Push peppers to edges and add a little more oil to pan. Let the pan heat up again-- you want it to be hot.

3. Add beef. Sprinkle on salt and pepper. Break up the beef so it's getting as much surface-area contact with the hot pan but do not stirfry it-- you want to get it to brown/caramelize a little, which it will if it stays in continuous contact with the hot pan.

 

4. Once brown on one side, flip it over and turn off the heat. The pan will still be hot and this prevent the beef from being overcooked. Now is the time to mix the beef with the peppers. 

5. Add sliced cheese on top and cover pan partially with lid to help the cheese melt. Once melted, add mixture to bread and enjoy!

Happy healthy juicy homemade cheesesteak! xo

Jersey Mike's Philly Cheesesteak

One major complaint about where we live now is the food. It just does NOT compare to home. For one? Philly cheesesteaks. I was horrified by a cheesesteak I had here once. It came on this bread called 'dutch crunch' which is a really dense bread topped with a crackily rice topping. The steak was chewy, not tender, and I think mayonnaise was involved.

Randomly, I was hankering for a cheesesteak yesterday and googled them in our new neighborhood. The place we found is called Jersey Mike's. 'Jersey', I thought, yeah right. Laughable. But it turned out the place is a chain and actually has locations near my hometown. Ok, I thought. Maybe this is legit. The photos on Yelp resembled what I was looking for, so we gave it a try.

Review: It was expensive but that might be just a matter of fact of where I live. The meat was more tender than the previous cheesesteak I had but not as much as the one back home. Bread— meh. Mushrooms— what mushrooms? My only major complaint were the peppers, to me, a major player in my cheesesteak world. The peppers were pickled. Pickled. In a cheesesteak. Cheesesteaks are supposed to be warm, creamy, and flavorful. Pickled is not a description nor an ingredient I would think should come anywhere near a cheesesteak, imho. Other than that, though, it was ok. Would I get it again? Yeah, probably, for the convenience and desire for something at least sort of close to what I really want. Would I recommend? Meh, I'm on the fence and would share the above explaining why.

Have you tried Jersey Mike's? What did you think? And are cheesesteaks really only good in Philly and its surrounding areas? Let us know in the Comments, we'd love to hear! :> xoxo

Nui Nui was actually more interested in the bags the cheesesteaks came in than the actual sandwiches themselves...

What To Do With Leftover Chicken!

Open-faced sandwiches! This is probably my favorite thing to do with leftover chicken. It's fast, easy, versatile, and sooper delicious!

Break up or slice thin the chicken. Get some good bread, ideally a boule that, when sliced, has a large surface area.

Choose your toppings, whatever you have on hand or that's simple. That night we did soppressata (higher quality salami), tomatoes, and a shredded cheddar cheese mix we had leftovers from when we made homemade tacos. Some other topping ideas I've done in the past are baby greens, shredded carrots, brie, apples, honey, ricotta, pesto... the list goes on. Find complimentary flavors and just top like a pizza.

I recommend lightly pre-toasting the bread first to create a solid base. Also, put a dry ingredient as the first layer in direct contact with the break so it doesn't get soggy and always to with cheese to melt and hold it all together. To avoid a big mess, make sure to keep the cheese within the perimeter of the bread slice— cleaning up a toaster of melted cheese = no fun.

Pair with a salad for the perfect summer meal :>

If you try this 'recipe' out, share your pics and comments with us on Twitter and Instagram, we'd love to drool over them! :> xoxo