Portobello Philly "Cheese Steak" Sandwiches and Sweet Potato Fries

Last night we had a very yummy (and super easy) supper! I had found a recipe on Pinterest for a Philly "Cheese Steak" sandwich substituting portobello mushrooms for the fatty steak. I thought this recipe sounded delicious from the get-go, so I was excited to make this. The Hubster, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of mushrooms in general, so I knew this would be a challenge. I was hoping the flavors from the veggies, cheese, and soy-sauce would come together beautifully and I was not disappointed! Hubster loved it too, actually ate seconds and also ate it again for lunch today.

Along with the sandwiches we also had oven-baked sweet potato fries. They were awesome as well and I sort of just made up the recipe as I went along.

Portobello Philly "Cheese Steak" Sandwiches from Eating Well:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed (see Tip), sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3 ounces thinly sliced reduced-fat provolone cheese
• 4 whole-wheat buns, split and toasted

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted and soft, about 7 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and soy sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, lay cheese slices on top of the vegetables, cover and let stand until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Divide the mixture into 4 portions with a spatula, leaving the melted cheese layer on top. Scoop a portion onto each toasted bun and serve immediately.

I did make a few changes to the recipe above. I had orange bellpepper so I used that instead of red. I also used wheat flour, cuz that's how we roll in the Jacobs house. I also did not have Oregano, so I used Italian Seasoning and of course I threw in some cayenne pepper and Tony's because no dish is complete without the two of them. If you don't agree, come eat supper with me and I will change your mind! ;) I also left the "gills" on the mushrooms because I think it gives them a "meatier" texture and adds some flavor to the dish.

Here are most of the ingredients

Plus my favorite additions

The fresh ingredients

MMMMMM!! This smelled SO good.

The finished product! Delish!

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries (made it up as I went) :)

1 large sweet potato or yam

1/4 cup olive oil (approximately.... y'all know me, I do not measure ANYTHING!)

course ground black pepper

salt

I started by washing the sweet potato and drying it off very well. If you don't dry it enough, the olive oil won't stick to the potato slices. Then I cut the potato in half then continued to cut into thick "fries" until they were small enough for me. I left the skin on because I love the caramelized flavor the skin gets once these are baked AND the skin provides lots of good nutrients and fiber.

After they were cut up, I threw them on a baking sheet and sprinkled salt and pepper on them and then drizzled on the olive oil. I tossed them around on the baking sheet and made sure each fry was well-coated. 

I then made sure they were well-spaced on the baking sheet (not touching each other). If they are touching each other, they will start to get soggy during the cooking process and nothing is worse than a soggy fry! Then I baked them at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, took them out, flipped them all over and baked for another 15 minutes and they were PERFECT!

They were the perfect match to go along with our "phillies". Look at that delicious caramelized color!

Then there's this little guy who was just HOPING I would drop something :)

This supper was very easy to make and was a huge hit. I will definitely be making both of these dishes again in the very near future!