Month: February 2021

Working in the Project Management IT world I complete a lot of concept reviews when working on MANY projects. 🙃 However, what I didn’t realize is that is sort of how recipe building works too! That is what brought me to this delicious steak sandwich.

I love watching the food channel and cooking shows and one of the Chefs I love is The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. First off can we talk about her products at Walmart??? I own a significant amount of kitchen appliances… I now need to throw one appliance or tool out when I buy a new one so a lot of thought goes into my purchases. 🤪 Back to Ree – I own three cook books that I have read at least 3 times. I own every utensil she could possibly offer to use in the kitchen down to her pie cutter people. I own her toaster, crockpot, Pots & Pans, I digress. It is an unhealthy obsession, but it is:

1. Available (Pretty much everywhere there is a Walmart)
2. Pretty
3. Affordable

SO – lets talk about how I “reviewed” a “concept” and then changed it entirely. The story behind her Marlboro Man Sandwich is what really made me want to try this recipe. (I highly recommend looking it up or reading it if you have her book “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” Recipes from an accidental Country Girl.) She uses Cubed steak in this recipe. Once I got to reading the recipe and looking at her spices I decided it probably wasn’t something for me. I will say she has some unique flavor ideas throughout her books.

HOWEVER – here comes that whole concept review thing I was talking about. Why not use the cubed steak but season it the way I usually would if I was using shaved steak to make steak and cheese????🤔 Also I do not have a huge pan to toast massive rolls either like the recipe calls for so lets do what I did a few weeks ago and use the broiler and incorporate the leftover heat. Guess what? IT WORKED! It was delicious and I think I may be giving up on shaved steak for steak and cheeses for a bit! 🤫😬

So before I share the recipe below remember do not be afraid or shy away from a recipe just because there is a spice in there you may not like, you do not have the correct pan, or there are too many steps – because you could be missing out on something delicious. Take recipes and make them your own – but never forget to give credit where credit is due!!!

CR Steak Sandwich

For my meal I only got enough for two sandwiches. Add more to the recipe based on who your feeding. For the Shredded cheese you can use whatever you would like, I used Trader Joe’s Sharp White Cheddar and I wish I had more. You can use sliced cheese you may need to leave them in the oven longer to melt though.

Ingredients

• 2 Packages of Cubed Steak
• 2 Sandwich Rolls sliced in half
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• 2 Medium Size Onions sliced
• 3 Tsp. separated Garlic Salt
• 3 Tsp. Seasoned Pepper
• Salt & Pepper to taste/shake
• 1 stick of butter cut in 1/4’s

Instructions for the Steak &Onions

1. Take the cubed steak and cut it in strips against the grain (Thanks Ree!!)
2. Take 1 Tsp of Garlic salt and 1 Tsp of Seasoned pepper and sprinkle it all over one side of the strips. Take the salt and pepper shakers and do the same but just lightly and once. (We have a decent salt and pepper on there already so you can skip the salt & pepper if you want to)
3. Place your cast iron skillet (or pan) on Medium high heat. Place 1/4 stick of the butter into the pan to melt.
4. Once the 1/4 stick of the butter is melted add the sliced onions to the pan.
5. Take your 1 next Tsp. of Garlic Salt and 1 Tsp. of Seasoned Pepper and spread all over the onions in the pan. Then take your salt and pepper shaker and shake it all over the onions.
6. Sautéed the onions until they start to turn golden/yellowish.
7. At this point I push them to one side and move that side of the pan off the burner just a smidge. (I like to not remove things from the pan because you dirty more dishes but you can do that at this point)
8. Add another 1/4 stick of butter (it will be hot and sizzle and it will melt quick)
9. Add the strips to the cast iron pan on the melted butter seasoned side down.
10. Now take your other 1 Tsp of Garlic Salt and 1 Tbsp of seasoned pepper and season the other sides of the cubed steak strips. Take the salt and pepper and shake it over the strips lightly. (Or again you can skip the S&P) (Also you could of already season both sides and in that case skip this step. 🙂 – I just make enough of a mess its nice to make the mess in the pan)
11. Let the strips cook for 1-2 minutes depending on thickness and then flip all the strips.
12. Cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes and remove.
13. Your Filling is complete!!

Instructions for the Rolls

1. Turn your Broiler on High
2. Take the sliced bread and using the 1/2 stick of butter left butter the open side of both the Top & Bottom roll (see picture below)
3. Place the pan into the oven and Broil for 1-2 minutes (watch your bread it can burn fast – hence why there is three just in case)
4. Remove the bread from the oven and shut off the broiler QUICK – close the door trap the heat in there.
5. Now take your shredded cheese and generously apply it to your bottom rolls
6. Throw it back into the oven to melt (When you use block cheese and shred it yourself it melts faster, its cheaper, and its delicious. If not you may need to put your oven on 250° to help melt the cheese if you are using pre shredded or sliced type of cheese)
7. Remove the bread and build your Steak Sandwich!

Enjoy!!