Not So Philly Cheese Steak

I call this the not so Philly Cheese steak because there is no Velveeta or Cheez Whiz in it. That is also why the color is off, it's not your monitor. I have been craving cheese steaks for a few days and when I went to the grocery store yesterday there was a worker there handing out coupons for $1 off of cheese and cheese products. She had a ton and kept handing them out, I ended up with 10 eight ounce bags of shredded cheese (different varieties but all Kraft) for .25 cents each and cream cheese bricks that ended up being 9 cents each. So cheese steaks it was. I figured a cheese sauce with a roux was my best bet. Veggies meat were a no brainier. This is an easy peasy dish, lemon squeezy dish. (Diva says that. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.) The girls and I shared the goodness pictured above, then Diva had another half. BTW- is it one word? or two words? Cheese steak?

GPAC Philly Cheese Steaks

Makes 4-6 sandwiches.

2 bell peppers- sliced into strips

1 medium onion- sliced into strips

1 pkg mushrooms sliced (8 ounces)

3-4 tablespoons of butter or olive oil

3/4-1 pound or sliced rib eye (you can use thin sliced round, sirloin or strip)

2 cloves of garlic minced

kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper 

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional but flavorful)

Cheese Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic minced

2 ounces cream cheese

8  ounces shredded sharp cheddar

2 cups milk

fine fround white pepper

Steak rolls

When slicing the vegetables watch out for little girls (Diva) who love raw onions (ewww) and she tried the mushrooms, just two pieces. She loves cooked peppers, not raw.

Prep the vegetables cutting them into strips.

Slice the meat thinly against the grain.
Season the meat with the dry spices. Set aside while you make the cheese sauce.

For the sauce you need to make a roux.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Once the butter gets foamy add the garlic and let it cook until fragrant.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook it until the flour no longer smells raw but nutty.

This is just a basic roux.  Season with white pepper, and salt if you're adding salt.

Add about 1/2 cup milk. Whisk so there are no lumps of flour. 

Whisk in the cream cheese until melted. Add remaining milk.

Whisk in shredded cheese a little at a time making sure it is incorporated and melted after each addition. If the sauce is too thick add a little milk.

You want to take this sauce to the point where it's a bit on the thin side because as it sits it will thicken some more. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. (If it gets too thick add some milk.)

For the meat and vegetables.
 In a frying pan add 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Cook half of the minced garlic until fragrant.

Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender or crisp/tender.

Set the cooked vegetables aside. Cover to keep warm.

In the same pan heat the remaining butter/oil and cook the garlic until fragrant. Make sure the pan is hot.  Add the beef and cook, season with Worcestershire and oyster sauce.

To assemble place meat and vegetables a steak roll and cover with cheese.