Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak

Whenever hubby and I go out to a restaurant there are a couple of things that I tend to gravitate to if they're on the menu - along with jalapeno poppers and lemon meringue pie (which doesn't come along too often unfortunately), I love to see Philly Cheesesteak on the page.  Some have fancier bread than others, some add a different twist with the cheese choice, some mix up the veggies, but whatever differences are there I'll usually want to try it.  Well here's my take on one of my favourites, and I'm calling it my Southwest 'Philly' because like so many of my recipes it's turned down the road to Spiceville with the addition of salsa (you may of noticed our penchant for the salsa kick :o)

Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak
serves 4

3 small bell peppers, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 brick cream cheese
300g deli cooked beef
pinch of salt and pepper
loaf of french bread (or individual baguettes)
4 slices of cheese of choice (I used Havarti)

• in a large skillet saute the peppers and onion in a little olive oil over medium to high heat, until softened.
• add the salsa and cream cheese and heat until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is creamy.
• cut the deli beef up into strips and add to the pan;  mix, reduce heat and simmer until the beef is heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly - 5 minutes.
• cut the french loaf into four pieces and slice each piece in half for the sandwich (today I actually used a 'half-baked' baguette that I had in the freezer).
• heap some of the beef mixture onto the bottom of each baguette piece and place a slice of cheese on the top.
• place under a broiler to melt the cheese or if you've been cooking something in the oven (as I was) pop it inside for a couple of minutes just until the cheese is soft and gooey - yum!!

 Southwest 'Philly' Cheesesteak ingredients.

in a large skillet saute the peppers and onion.

add the salsa and cream cheese.

reduce the heat and simmer until the cream cheese has melted - sorry about the steam making the photo 'misty' :o)

cut the deli beef into pieces - and of course, nobody will blame you if you sneak a little piece - purely for taste test reasons!!

add the beef to the sauce, mix and heat through.

heap some beef mixture onto the bottoms of the baguette and cover with cheese - this was just before I popped it into the oven to melt the cheese.

we had ours today with some sweet potato discs and chive sour cream.

Beef Stew

We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow - not much really for the area we live in (although we are forecast for more in the next couple of days) but enough that one of my first thoughts was......it's a slow cooker day.  Can you think of anything better than hunkering down at the end of a snowy day, with the fire blazing and a big bowl of beef stew on the table.....mmmm mmmm.

Beef Stew (Slow Cooker)
6-8 servings

1 kg stewing steak
2 cans condensed mushroom soup
1 can onion soup
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce

• peel and slice the onion and chop the garlic cloves; set aside.
• into a 5-6 quart slow cooker pot empty the three cans of soup.
• add the onion, garlic and worcestershire sauce and mix well.
• add the stewing steak and mix to combine everything thoroughly (if you want you can brown the meat in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker, but I never bother and it always comes out beautifully tender and moist)
• cook on LOW setting for 6-8 hours.

 Beef Stew ingredients.

slice and chop the onion and garlic.

put the soups, onion, garlic and worcestershire sauce in the slow cooker and mix well.

add the stewing steak and mix - I admit that at this stage the colour especially doesn't look very appetising, but by the end of the cooking time it will be a deep brown, bubbling bowl of bodaciousness ;o)

what did I tell you about the bodaciousness.....yummy!!

(I got our second slow cooker going with cheesy potato bake to go alongside...mmmmm)

Bacon Pinwheels

Quite frankly is there anything better on a lazy Sunday morning than bacon?  Being originally from England there's a very fond place in my heart for the simple 'bacon buttie' - that thick cut back bacon nestled between two slices of thick, crusty, buttered white bread, with maybe a smear of tomato ketchup or, as my brother would always have, HP brown sauce :o)

This morning though I thought I would make something with at least a little veggie appearance so that we don't feel so bad about eating the bacon!!  The original recipe from Pillsbury actually classes it as an appetizer but honestly you could eat these little guys any time of the day....all day. 

Bacon Pinwheels
(adapted from this Pillsbury recipe)
makes 18 pinwheels

1 tube of Pillsbury Grand Crescent Rolls
2 Tbs Ranch dressing
5 rashers of bacon
5 green onions
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 cup cheese, grated (I had some nacho mix left over)

• preheat the oven to 350 F.
• cut the bacon into small bite size pieces and in a small frying pan or saucepan, saute until beginning to crisp; drain on a plate covered in kitchen towel and set aside.
• meanwhile, chop the green onions and de-seed and chop the tomatoes.
• open the tube of crescent rolls carefully and lay out the dough cutting it to make two rectangles approximately 5" x 9"; pinch the perforated seams together so they don't tear while rolling up.
• spread each piece dough with a tablespoon of ranch dressing.
• sprinkle the bacon, onions, tomato and cheese evenly over each rectangle.
• starting from a short side, roll the dough to make a 'sausage'; repeat with the other piece.
• using a sharp knife, cut each 'sausage' into nine pinwheels and place onto ungreased cookie sheets, an inch or so apart.
• bake for 12-14 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
• remove from the cookie sheets immediately and serve warm.

 Bacon Pinwheel ingredients.

saute the bacon until just beginning to crisp.

chop the onions and de-seed and chop the tomato.

unroll the dough and cut into two rectangles.

spread with the ranch dressing.

sprinkle the bacon, onion, tomato and cheese evenly over the dough.

starting at a short side roll up to make 'sausages'.

cut into pinwheels using a sharp knife and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

isn't that just a little puffed piece of perfection!!! :o)

sorry about the pink plate - we were so hungry, but I wouldn't let hubby have any until I'd finished photographing and it was the first plate I grabbed :o)