My husband is from southern New Jersey so I can speak authoritatively on the topic of Philly cheesesteaks. I never had a cheesesteak until we started dating and, being that I was a vegetarian for years, this meat and cheese concoction cooked on a really dirty looking grill definitely made me hesitate. But we do a lot of things for love, don’t we? And so I became a cheesesteak connoisseur. Regular cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, I ate them all and tried to find my favorite up and down the Jersey shore.
We are far from the Jersey shore these days and I hadn’t thought about making a cheesesteak in ages so this meal was extra delicious. The Visit Philly website describes a Philly Cheesesteak as a long, crusty roll filled with thinly sliced sautéed ribeye beef and melted cheese. The cheese is usually provolone or American or, in extreme circumstances, Chees Whiz, apparently.
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| “Beef… And More Beef” |
Far, far from the land of Cheez Whiz, we took our kiddos to Proffitt Family Farm in Kings Mountain, NC a few months ago. It was absolutely beautiful out there. The kids fished and checked on the cows and horses and got a great lesson on chickens from a very knowledgeable future farmer. We love to get our grass-fed beef from this farm – it always tastes so good – but usually we pick it up at our farmers market, not directly from the source.
That afternoon, we had the luxury of browsing their immense freezers and we came across something called “minute steaks.” My husband and I looked at each other instantly – these little guys were perfect for cheesesteaks! These minute steaks were small pieces of thinly sliced beef – if you are a child of the processed food of the 80s, picture a slightly thicker version of steak-ums.
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| Visiting Proffitt Family Farm |
I didn’t plan on serving these cheesesteaks on crusty sub rolls this time around so I found a better vehicle … sauteed collard greens! Talk about a north-south mash-up. This combination was delicious. The kids and adults devoured this meal and begged for more.
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| “Minute Steaks” |
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| Cook minute steaks and onions … add cheese |
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| Collard greens sauteed with garlic |
This recipe caught my attention – I’m from South Jersey too! I need to get my hands on some of those minute steaks to try this one asap. I look forward to trying more greens with this recipe (never had collard or mustard greens). Thank you, Erin!
Thanks, Dana! Definitely pick up some minute steaks – you can email Shelley ahead of time at shelleyeagan @ proffittfarms.com – and she can bring your minute steaks to the Yorkmount Farmers Market. Definitely give this a try! As for greens … so easy, inexpensive, local, good for you!
What a great recipe, this looks amazing! Fabulous blog you have, so glad to be your newest follower! xoxo
Thanks, Kelly! Glad you like it. I loved seeing the tropical tarlets recipe posted on your blog today … it really is almost summer, isn’t it?