Need a quick lunch or dinner that scales effortlessly? This is the answer. Faster than fast food and healthier, too, this hearty dish with easy to find ingredients adjusts to tastes, dietary considerations, and any size crowd in a flash.

Servings: 6 - 8 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Skill level: Easy

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound high quality deli ROAST BEEF, sliced to preferred thickness

• 1 BELL PEPPER, sliced

• 1 ONION, sliced

• 8-10 oz. properly prepared MUSHROOMS (pre-sliced)

• 3 Tablespoons BUTTER, divided

• Favorite CHEESE, any flavor, sliced or shredded

• BREAD or BUNS of choice

• GARLIC POWDER

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice roast beef, peppers, and onions into strips.

2. In a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter.

3. To it, add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Season with garlic powder and sauté on medium, stirring frequently, until the veggies are warmed through but still a little crisp.

4. Add the sliced deli beef and distribute throughout the pan. Continue to cook until the beef is heated through, then keep warm on low stirring occasionally.

5. In the meantime, prepare the bread/buns by toasting in toaster then applying butter and garlic powder >or< by spreading butter onto the bread/buns, sprinkling with garlic powder and putting them in a toaster oven, broiler, or grilling face down in a pan on the stove until golden. Keep warm.

6. Make Philly Steak & Cheese by placing meat mixture onto bread/bun and topping with cheese of choice. Can be assembled ahead, wrapped in foil, and kept warm in the oven on the lowest temperature.

7. Refrigerate any leftovers. Pre-made sandwiches can be frozen.

NOTES/VARIATIONS

• If you don’t want to use a store bought bread product (gluten free or regular), try homemade sourdough bread. This is also amazing on a baked potato!

• Sandwiches (or stuffed baked potatoes) can be made in advance and kept warm in the oven until ready to serve or frozen and warmed through for future meals. Wrapping in foil is especially practical and transfers well to toaster ovens, traditional ovens, or air fryers for reheating.

• Further trim the time it takes to make this by purchasing already sliced onions and peppers from the produce section of your local grocery store. Ideally, you would use mushrooms you prepared in advance and have at the ready in the fridge or freezer. In a pinch, try quality canned mushrooms in place of fresh.

• This recipe is highly adaptable. Adjust the serving sizes up or down easily. Use your favorite pepper or leave them out altogether. Prefer red onion to yellow? Go for it! Don’t want to use butter? Olive or coconut oils work well. Feeling adventurous? Give deli chicken or turkey, following the same quality standards that you would with the beef, a try.

• Rule of thumb, for every pound of roast beef, use 1 bell pepper, 1 onion, 1 cup of properly prepared mushrooms. It’s really all about your preferences.

• Can’t “do” cheese? While the sandwich is perfectly tasty without cheese, Violife brand of vegan cheeze is a surprisingly good substitute. It even melts a bit for that gooey texture. Some folks who can’t tolerate regular dairy do very well with goat’s milk or raw dairy cheeses. Most grocery stores carry at least a few options. If none of those work for you, and you still want that cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is just that with the added bonus of naturally occurring B vitamins.

• Going meatless? Don’t want dairy? Skip the meat and add extra veggies like zucchini, eggplant, a variety of mushrooms and peppers, and fresh, sautéd tomatoes. Use olive or coconut oil and don’t forget a bit of salt to bring out the flavors. Top with a vegan cheeze or nutritional yeast. Delish!

• Despite the fact that there are some high quality deli brands that don’t have nitrates, gluten, or dairy, and are low in sodium, some folks just don’t want or can’t eat cold cuts while others can’t find the "good stuff”. In place of the deli meat, feel free to use:

  • home cooked roast beef or leftover steak, sliced thin

  • shaved steak. It is found pre-packaged in most meat sections or at the butcher’s counter and is similar to the “steak-umms” concept (remember those?) only better!

  • flank steak - but ask your butcher to run it through the tenderizer first then slice it for you. You’ll be so glad you did. From there, you can cook it in the pan the way you would have the deli roast beef. Season with salt and pepper and extra garlic powder and finish it over medium heat to your liking (rare, med-rare, etc.)

  • chicken breasts cut into small strips. Cook as with the flank steak.

  • To achieve the best flavor, make sure to season your select cuts of meat well to taste and tolerance: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and/or a favorite blend of herbs and spices.

• If not using potatoes as a bun substitute, Serbian Potato Salad makes an excellent accompaniment otherwise, a small side salad topped with Robust & Zesty Italian Salad Dressing makes a refreshing duo!

• As articulated in the What’s for Dinner article, always aim for the highest quality ingredients.

CREDITS/REFERENCES
Thumbnail photo credit: Original, untouched photo can be found here: La cocina de Padawan- Philly cheese steak www.lacocinadepadawan.com 2.jpeg

I made this recipe up but it’s certainly not an original concept!