Arkie Cheese Steak Sandwich

It’s not on the grill or the smoker, but this time of year (football season) colder weather and not wanting to miss the game occasionally call for other kinds of cooking. Don’t worry, it still involves meat.

This is my variation on the classic cheese steak sandwich, with a few ingredient changes from a traditional Philly.

Traditionally, you use green bell peppers and onions with Swiss or baby Swiss cheese on steak you’ve had a butcher slice razor thin. I’ve used a frozen blend of green, red and yellow bell peppers with onions, added sliced mushrooms, switched to Monterey Jack cheese, (for easier melting) and added Cavender’s Greek seasoning to the meat. That much is made a lot easier (I found all the ingredients at Walmart) and cheaper by using Steakumm, or on this case, a house brand knockoff, than going to a butcher shop.

It also helps, unless you’re cooking for several people, to open the packages of vegetables, mushrooms and meat and transfer them all into freezer bags so you can dole out however much you need and set the rest back. The large iron skillet will hold enough ingredients for about two sandwiches.

Start by cutting a hoagie roll or sub roll from the bakery sandwich style and adding mayo to both sides. Next, in a large cast iron skillet heat about a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil on medium heat, and add the peppers, onions and mushrooms. Stir and turn them until sautéed.

Move them to the side and add one of the frozen shredded steaks. Season the up side with Cavender’s and wait two minutes. Continue stirring the vegetables, then turn the meat over and season the other, now browned side. Wait two more minutes while stirring the vegetables, then turn the meat again and use the spatula to separate the meat and stir it together with the vegetables.

Once all the meat is browned, sprinkle shredded cheese over the mixture until it starts to melt. Fold that over once with the spatula and put it on the roll to serve.