Cheese Steaks and Cheesecake

For our first post, we thought we would share some favorite family recipes. We hope you'll send us some of your favorites as well. We are eagerly trying new recipes and looking for ones we can share.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This is a recipe I found from Bobby Flay on the Food Network. I tweaked it a little to fit our budget and my cooking skills.

Ingredients:
* 1 lb or more of thinly sliced steak (Bobby called for the good stuff- strip loin steak, but I just use the affordable kind and slice it really thin.)
* Olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Soft hoagie rolls, split 3/4 open
* Provolone Cheese
* Caramelized Onions, recipe follows
* Sauteed Peppers, recipe follows


Directions

Place steak in freezer for 30 to 45 minutes; this makes it easier to slice the meat. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice very thinly.

Heat griddle or grill pan over high heat. Brush steak slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 45 to 60 seconds per side.

Place several slices of the meat on the bottom half of the roll, place cheese on the meat, and top with the onions, and peppers.

Caramelized Onions:
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1-2 large onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.


Sauteed Peppers:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 bag frozen cut pepper strips (These are located in the frozen veggie section of most supermarkets. You can use fresh peppers but I thought it was easier to use these. We use the leftover peppers for fajitas later in the week.)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in medium saute pan over high heat. Add the peppers and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

2- 8oz.cream cheeses

3/4 c. sugar

2- eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon juice

Beat all ingredients until light and fluffy.

Take 24 vanilla wafers- place one in each cupcake wrapper and place in a muffin tin.

Then spoon cream cheese mixture on top of vanilla wafers.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes

*Serve with pie filling on top of each (any kind)---- My favorite is cut up strawberries mixed with strawberry glaze.

You can cut the recipe in half if you only wish to make 12!