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Friday, February 3, 2012

West Philadelphia, Born and Raised



 Relax, it's just dinner.
 So what if you have both carnivores and vegetarians to feed?
So what if everyone wants something fast food tasty?
So what if you need to cut the fat and calories in the menu?
Don't make that face.
You've got this.
We'd like to present 
Rehabbed Philadelphias!
And we're going to make the best fries ever to go with them.
Grab your delicious gear:

1 loaf of Cuban bread
1 box (6 servings) Philly style cheese steaks
1 eggplant
1 large red pepper
3 medium onions
3 zucchinis
5 russet potatoes
1 pound of mushrooms
1 package processed Swiss cheese
Olive oil
Canola oil 
Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette
Powdered garlic
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees.
Slice the Cuban bread into biased rounds under 1" thick and set them on two lined cookie sheets.
Brush them with olive oil, sprinkle them with garlic powder.
 Pop them in the oven for 10 minutes or so to toast.
Break up the steaks and saute them in a little canola oil until done and set them aside.
 Peel the eggplants as shown. It's a decorative thang.
Grab that dressing...
 And pour it over your eggplant for a few minutes.
We're going for a lot of flavor here.
 Clean and slice up the pepper very thin...
 ...saving the seeds for your garden.
 Slice the mushrooms, the onions,

and the zucchini.
    I like to peel the potatoes some, but not all the way, like a ring around the middle.
    cut them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips and
    soak for about an hour to draw out the starch.
    Drain, pat dry and fry at 325 for about 8 to 10 minutes, then
    cool them on a rack and set them aside.
 Start sauteing.
 Pan sear the eggplant until it's just softened.
Saute the onions in olive oil on a low heat to caramelize them, the mushrooms
and peppers on medium.
I used lots of garlic and a sprinkle of Adobo.
 Grab those two cookie sheets of toasted garlic rounds.
On one sheet, layer all of the eggplant.
 Top that with onions and mushrooms.
 Try not to eat any of the sandwiches while you're standing there.
 On the other cookie sheet, layer the steak, then the rest of the onions and mushrooms.

Bring the oil temperature back up to 375 and fry the potatoes till brown, about another 10 minutes.
 Get ready with the cheese.
If you have any vegans in the crowd, or someone lactose intolerant, use veggie slices, which are surprisingly tasty
 Tear the cheese slices and top each little sandwich.


 Top the cheese with a pepper strip.

Drain the fries.
Pat them with a paper towel to remove all of the excess oil.
 Put both cookie sheets back into the oven to warm up and melt down.
Take this time to saute the zucchini as a vegetable side dish.
 Dish it up!
 This is lighter than usual, the salt is lower,
we shaved the bread content, there's a LOT of veggies included, and because the rounds are smaller portions, you'll eat just what you want, and not an enormous sandwich. 
It also cuts costs a lot.
This fed 6 people, including my husband and my two sons, with no leftovers.
Thom and Savannah gave the vegetarian sandwiches a rave review...
and they weren't the only ones eating them!

Do you already have your menu for Sunday planned out?

3 comments:

Heather{Our Life In a Click} said...

West Philly, really?? I think more South Philly when I think cheesesteaks (Ginos vs Pats and all that) :) But I digress..whatever you call those things, they look delicious! My mouth is watering!!! We haven't had much luck with vegan cheeses but that looks amazing!

Denise said...

Yum. And I do mean, "YUM!" That looks wonderful. Gaining weight just thinking about it.

It's hard to photograph food. You do a great job.

Brandy said...

have they changed veggie slices? Last time i checked they still had some dairy in them so they weren't vegan...