Open-Faced Cheesesteaks and Sweet Potato Fries

Lunch & Dinner

Jan 9

Whenever Joe and I are at home watching the Eagles games, he always requests “football food” for dinner. In the past, I’ve made my pulled pork mac & cheese, healthier buffalo wings, cheeseburger quinoa casserole, or something else mimicking the greasy bar food that we all know and love. This past weekend however, I had a craving for a cheesesteak. Maybe it was because the Eagles were the focus of our attention that day, or because we had just come off a weekend in Philly filled with Pat’s, but either way, we knew what we wanted. As always, our freezer was filled with frozen Butcher Box meats, which made this all the easier. I pulled out a NY Strip Steak that morning and placed it in a bowl of water in the fridge to defrost and went on my way to grab the remaining groceries.

Open-Faced Cheesesteaks and Sweet Potato Fries

Surprisingly, this dish does not require a ton of things. Using sourdough bread from our freezer (I think it is clear that our freezer could last us a lifetime…) all I had to do was grab the vegetables: sweet potato, oyster mushrooms, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper. With everything ready, it was time to get cooking. We angled the TV to face the kitchen island, pulled out a beer, and went to work. First thing I got started on were the sweet potato fries. To make these, slice the sweet potato into matchstick like pieces and season with avocado oil, cayenne pepper, and salt & pepper. Personally, I cooked mine in the Ninja Foodi Grill (my latest kitchen obsession) on air crisp mode for 20 minutes until they were perfectly golden brown. However, if you do not have an air fryer, no fret! You can cook these in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 425 degrees for around 25 minutes.

While the sweet potato fries are baking, dice the mushrooms, bell peppers, and jalapeño pepper into small pieces and set aside. Next, pat the steak dry and season generously with salt and pepper. On a hot cast iron skillet add 1 teaspoon of ghee and, once melted, add the steak. Allow the steak to sear on one side for 5-7 minutes and then flip to cook the other side. If you are someone who is intimidated by cooking steak, I am here to help! I want to encourage everyone to give it a try and believe in yourself; I promise it is not that hard. To assist, I have a full video tutorial on this recipe here. Once the steak is finished cooking, remove it from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. While the steak is resting, add 1/2 teaspoon of avocado oil to the skillet and sauté the mushrooms and bell peppers for around 10 minutes, or until they are soft and cooked through. With your other hand, pop the sourdough bread in your toaster.

Now that the steak has rested, slice it into small pieces and, along with the diced jalapeño peppers, add on to the skillet with the cooked mushrooms and bell peppers. Sprinkle in ½ cup of grated parmesan and mix well until the cheese has melted and everything is combined. Place the sourdough bread on a plate and pour the mixture from the skillet on top of and beside the bread. Serve alongside the sweet potato fries and enjoy with a crisp beer and an intense football game.