Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Chicken, chicken, and more chicken is what we've had for supper this week. I needed some beef, but I wasn't feelin' a regular burger or meatloaf, etc. So, I searched my Pinterest boards and found a recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes. I followed the general idea of the recipe but added my own touches, too. The result was our new favorite ground beef meal!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
Beef broth
A-1 Steak Sauce (small bottle)
About 5 or 6 dashes of Steak seasoning (optional - I used Penzey's Chicago Steak)
Salt and Black pepper to taste
2 wheat buns or sub rolls (or white - any bun or roll you like is fine)
2 slices of provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Place onions and peppers in skillet and cook til they begin to brown a little bit and get soft.

3. Add ground beef to skillet and brown it. Drain grease very well, wipe out skillet and return meat mixture to skillet. (You may want to set out your cheese at this point, so it's not too cold when you are placing it on the sandwich. It will melt more easily.)

4. Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and steak seasoning; stir to distribute evenly. (Use s&p lightly if steak seasoning contains both.)

5. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of beef broth and 1/2 bottle of A-1, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid is gone.

6. Toast both sides of the buns or rolls. I turned the broiler to low and placed the baking sheet on the top rack. It took less than 5 minutes.

7. Pile meat onto the bottom bun and place cheese on top of it. (The cheese will form to the meat to help keep it in place.) Put top bun on the sandwich and push down a bit, so it sort of adheres to the cheese. Ryan put his cheese on the bottom before adding the meat, but I think the cheese on top of the meat worked out better. Test it out and see what works for you. Also, if you want a more saucy sloppy joe, before you add the cheese, pour A-1 over the meat.

Serve!

The fries are oven baked. Cut one large russet potato into strips after peeling, and soak them in a bowl of salted water for about 30 minutes. Drain the bowl and place the potatoes on a towel to dry them. You'll want to soak up as much water from them as you can if you want them cripy. Toss potatos in olive oil to lightly coat. Place them on a baking sheet treated w/ non-stick spray, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in upper third section of oven at 425. Turn after 15 minutes. After another 15 minutes, take them out and sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other herbs you like. (I used rosemary and thyme, as well as s&p.) Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Add more salt if needed and serve.

The asparagus was roasted. First, trim the woody ends, and, then, toss lightly in olive oil. Place them in a glass baking dish and sprinkle with any seasoning combination you like. I used black pepper and Penzey's Trinidad seasoning. (Trinidad is a lemon-garlic seasoning.) Roast at 425 for about 15-20 minutes.