Philly Cheesesteaks (Lighter)

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B
Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (October 2006)
Recipe Source:  Light & Healthy 2010 (The Best of America's Test Kitchen)

Ingredients
1lb. top round steak, cut into strips and partially frozen (25-50 minutes), then shredded with food processor
1 onion chopped (I sliced so I could pick them out later, for my picky eater)
2 teaspoons oil
salt and pepper
5 slices reduced-fat provolone deli-style provolone cheese
4 sub rolls, toasted

Saute the onions over low heat, covered, then add the beef, and cook at higher heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and put cheese on top. Serve on bun.

Yum!

I'm a little bit excited about this recipe, which may seem a little strange, since I only gave this recipe a B. However, the concept of the recipe is what is great, and it tasted really, really good, and it is "light".

The fact that I couldn't make the cheese gooey and melt nicely like the recipe suggested it would is why I don't give this recipe an A. The recipe suggests you should be able to add a lower fat provolone cheese (I used Sargento) to the top of the beef over a low heat, and stir it in after it melts. I've tried this two times, trying to stir at different times, and both times the cheese became very rubbery and never stirred in well. I would assume a higher fat cheese would work fine.

But I don't have a problem with just laying the cheese on top and letting it melt, and skipping the stirring phase. Even the beef without the cheese is very tasty, so that is an option also.

Really the best thing about this recipe is the idea of cutting up the beef (Top Round) into finger pieces that will fit in your food processor tube. Then you freeze them for 30-60 minutes, to make them firm, but not frozen through. After that, you can slice with a thin slicing disk on the food processor.

You don't even really need a recipe for this (although I've linked to the non-light version of the recipe above at the paid Cook's Country site.)

I plan on using this technique for the beef to make these sandwiches also. I've always made that recipe with Shaved Beef from Trader Joe's which is somewhat expensive and full of fat. I was able to get 1.25 lbs of Top Round for a little over $4 on sale, which is much cheaper, and also much leaner. I ended up freezing half of my shaved beef and using a week later to make this recipe a second time. In the future, I may even buy a bigger piece of meat, especially if on sale, and shred a whole bunch at once, and freezing in batches. This will make a super fast dinner when I don't have a lot of time.