Cheesesteak recipe

Eric and I both are huge suckers for Big John's steak and onion cheesesteak sandwiches. It is actually a problem...we get it all the time and try and be sneaky so the other person doesn't know we got it because we know they will be jealous. It's that bad. So I am really curious to know if there is a recipe out there that could possibly stack up to our beloved Big John's. This one that I found seems like it could do the trick!

What you'll need:

Hoagie rolls- I feel like these make or break the sandwich. I will be getting a nice soft roll.

1 large onion, sliced

1/2 green pepper, sliced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1-1.5 lbs ribeye steaks

butter

provolone cheese

I would add jalapenos 

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees

2. In a skillet sautee the peppers, mushrooms, and onions with 1 tbsp butter (I would use olive oil) and cook them through, about 5-7 minutes on med-high heat. Once they are done take them out and set them aside. 

3. Cut the steaks thinly across the grain and then chop up into small pieces. Put the meat into the skillet with more butter (olive oil) and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, still on med-high heat, and cook it through. Should take 2-4 minutes. Re-add the veggies in with the meat then separate the mixture into the serving portions and top with cheese. Let the cheese melt and then scoop the whole serving onto a hoagie bun. Roll the buns TIGHTLY in aluminum foil so that it is squishing the bread and place the bundles in the oven for 10-15 minutes. 

You can see a few changes that I pointed out above. I love jalapenos so I would add those and take out the green peppers just because I don't like them as much. I would also skip the butter and just use olive oil. Other than that, these sound really good. I love the idea of wrapping them tight and baking them to get the bread all gooey and yummy from the cheese and meat juices. 

This recipe isn't going to stay "on deck" very long....

BBQ pulled chicken recipe

This is by far my most visited recipe. It is a crockpot recipe but I have some sort of freak of nature crockpot that must get super hot or something so it is not a drop it and leave for the day kind of situation. This recipe needs to be watched...because I have burned it before.Yes, it is possible to burn something in the crockpot, who knew. Not to get on a rant here but there is an unfortunate story to follow that statement. A few months back Eric's mom had surgery. So me being the nice girlfriend that I am I decided that I would make the whole family a big meal and it was going to be so great (blah blah blah). So I threw the chicken together and then left for work. 8 hours later I get home and I have these crispy burned little chicken bricks. Eric convinced me that it still tasted alright so we dumped some extra BBQ sauce on it and called it good. Eric has been bragging to the family about how good of a cook I am so I was all ready to show of my skills...and I had to present them with this dry nasty chicken. Mortifying...

Anyway, if you are looking for a quick easy recipe that is a serious crowd pleaser, this is going to be your friend. This recipe usually will feed the two of us for about 3 meals...so it makes a lot. Good for family dinner but also a good option as a dish to pass.

What you'll need:
1 package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (~3 pieces of chicken)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ is the obvious choice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp cornstarch
*many of the ingredients in this list are optional. If you were to just throw in the BBQ sauce and call it good you would be ok...but the little additions make it oh so much tastier.

1. Into the crockpot put about 3/4 the bottle of BBQ sauce, sliced onions, garlic, pepper flakes, vinegar, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Give the mixture a good stir and then put in your chicken breasts and toss it all around so the chicken is coated. Put the lid on and leave it on low for about 6 hours.
2. After your 6 hours is up you will notice that there is a lot of liquid in the pot. To thicken it back to BBQ sauce consistency take out about 1/4 cup of the liquid and place it in a small bowl. Add your tbsp of cornstarch and combine into a slurry. Add this back into the chicken mixture and crank the crockpot to high for about 20-30 mins.
3. Now you should have a nice thick sauce. Go ahead and shred the chicken in the crockpot and let it suck up some of those juices. Add some more BBQ sauce if you would like. Serve on a toasted onion bun or ciabatta bread. YUMMM.