Steak, cheese, peppers, & onions! Oh yum!

So, I was watching 30 minute meals the other day and Rachel Ray made a steak, cheese, and pepper sandwich thing that looked so good. Kevin and I were on out way home from his sister's house and stopped at the store to pick up something to eat for dinner that night. We were both hungry and I knew nothing was thawed out and ready to go at home. So when we stopped, I told him I could make some steak sandwiches and he looked quite excited about that idea.

The london broil was on sale, so I used that instead of flat iron. And we couldn't find provolone cheese, so I used monterey jack cheese. We used big hamburger buns instead of ciabatta bread. This sandwich tasted so good. It would've been tasty no matter what we used.

Here is her original recipe. They only have it in video format. It's not written out anywhere which is kind of annoying.

I started out with the peppers and onions. Make sure your burner is low because you have to cook these slow so they caramelize. I got a bit impatient at the end and turned my burner up, which is why they got a bit dark. Kevin doesn't like onions so I had to keep mine separate. It would have been a lot easier if they were combined and I could move them all around the pan. But, even the really crispy ones tasted good.

While those were cooking, I started on the cheese sauce. Cheese sauce for a sandwich sounded so good to me. I melted the butter and added the flour.  I let that cook for a bit to cook the floury taste out. Then I added my milk. I let it come to a boil and thicken. When it was thick, I added the whole package of shredded monterey jack. Normally, I would've shredded my own block of cheese, but the shredded cheese was half the price of a whole block.

I like my steak cooked medium. Medium rare and rare steak gross me out. So what if that's the best way to eat meat, how good can it be if I'm puking in the bathroom 30 seconds later? When I cook steak at home, it usually ends up well done, no pink in it at all. I'm okay with that. I'd rather have it cooked than still mooing at me. I really wanted this cooked with a little pink inside, and I got it, but only on the ends of the london broil. I seasoned it with just salt and pepper, but I should have put some sort of grill seasoning on it. It was still really good, but some garlic powder, dried onions, onion powder, just a little extra would have been much better. I just cooked it in a frying pan for about 15-20 minutes on both sides. I was going to use our grill pan, but it was dirty and we were too hungry to take the time to clean it. It's cast iron, so cleaning it is a little bit of a process. Then I let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes. I sliced it as thin as I could. It started out nice and thin, but the slices got thicker towards the middle. Oops.

While the second side of the steak was cooking, I put the buns on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 350 degrees till they were brown on the edges. I brushed a little olive oil on them before putting them in the oven.





Then it was time to assemble and eat. I was super hungry by now. First, I laid the open bun on the plate, then added some steak slices. Then I ladled on a good amount of the monterey jack cheese sauce. Next came some peppers and onions. I put the bun lid on the sandwich and sat down to enjoy. It was very good and definitely worth the wait.

Recipe:

5 cubanelle peppers
1 medium onion
8 oz. shredded cheese provolone, monterey jack, or any other white cheese
2 to 3 lbs. of your choice of steak
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
sandwich bread

Cut up peppers, removing veins and seeds. Cut onion, cutting very thin. Turn heat on low. Put some olive oil in pan and about 1 tbsp of butter. When butter melt and oil is hot, add peppers and onions. Cook until browned and soft.
Melt 2 tbsp. of butter. When melted, add 2 tbsp. of flour. Mix together well and let mixture cook for a minute. Whisk in 2 cup os milk. Let milk come to a boil and thicken slightly. Whisk in shredded cheese. Let cheese melt and sauce become thick. Reduce heat to very low until time to use sauce.
Season one side of steak with salt & pepper. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Put steak in skillet, seasoned side down. Season other side with salt & pepper. For medium-done, put it on for about 15-20 minutes on each side.
Toast bread in the oven at 350 degrees or in a toaster.
Let meat sit for 15 minutes. Slice meat against the grain as thin as you can.
lay bread out and put slices of meat on. Put cheese sauce on next, then peppers & onions. Top with other bread and enjoy!