Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteaks

So I know the whole InstaPot thing is the hotness, but the only plug-in cooking vessel I use is a crockpot. And even that thing only sees the light of day maybe six times per year.

I look at my crockpot as a bit of a means of cheating to cook. I also say to myself when lugging it up from the confines of my basement kitchen gadget auxiliary, "Wow, is this what it has come to?" But alas, sometimes even the most Nigella Lawson/Lidia Bastianich/Ina Garten obsessed gals need to take a shortcut now again. Truth, the crockpot is very useful when you are having a frantic day/night/week and you just need to chop up a few things, open a can, place ingredients on top of each other and call it a day.

Such is the case with this recipe for Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwiches from Life in the Lofthouse. I discovered it on Pinterest. I have made the dish three times, so I would declare it a success. I would also declare quite firmly that the final product is NOTHING like a for reals Philly chicken cheesesteak, but the dish does make for a great dinner. I served it on hoagie rolls with provolone cheese. Voila!

This is a good one to make if your family is coming and going and needs to eat in between activities.

Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwiches
From Life in the Lofthouse
Yields 4 to 6 sandwiches

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup chicken broth (Please note: The Jersey Girl used an entire can of chicken broth)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons steak sauce (I used Heinz 57)
6 hoagie buns

Spray inside of crock pot with non-stick spray. 

Lay the onion and bell pepper slices in the bottom of crock pot. Pour chicken broth over the veggies. Lay chicken breasts over the top of vegetables. 

Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and steak sauce over the chicken.

Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 6 to 7 hours OR on high heat for 3 to 4 hours (or until chicken is tender and cooked through)

Carefully remove chicken from crock pot and shred with two forks. 

Return to crock pot and stir to combine the shredded chicken and veggies. (There will be liquid in the crock pot but I leave it in to keep the chicken moist)

Using a slotted spoon scoop up chicken mixture and place inside hoagie buns. Top with desired sliced cheese, such as provolone.

A Quick Fix

In these parts, Sausage and Peppers reigns supreme.
But allow me to introduce you to Sausage and Broccoli Rabe:

It’s so delish, dear readers.

Why wouldn’t you give it a try?

I made this for din one night last week in the midst of Christmas preparations when my time was a bit limited and a package of turkey sausage was hanging out in my freezer.

If you don’t know about Broccoli Rabe, I will totally do my best to explain: Broccoli Rabe – pronounced “Rob” has many pseudonyms. It’s also known as Broccoli di Rape and Broccoletti and many other variations. It’s related to turnips and quasi looks like broccoli, but in my humble opinion it tastes nothing like broccoli. It’s usually more bitter than broccoli and it’s really not crunchy in texture, but it’s also not mushy like ick nast overcooked regular broccoli.

I’ve been eating broccoli rabe foreva eva. It’s way popular in southern Italy, and that’s pretty much how my family eats.

At various establishments in South Jersey and in Philadelphia, you will find broccoli rabe atop a fab roasted pork sandwich with melty provolone cheese on a perfect crusty Italian roll. So good it will warm your soul.

I think I need to make THAT sandwich.

Anyway, you can rock this out with any type of sausage. I was trying to keep it a bit healthy since Christmas Eve and Christmas were right around the corner and those two days involved copious amounts of eating and drinking.

Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
1 pound turkey sausage in casings (5 or 6 pieces)
1 pound broccoli rabe, washed in cold water, chopped, with stems removed
4 garlic cloves, sliced
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Torpedo rolls, sliced

In a saucepan, place broccoli rabe and two inches of water. Cover pan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cook until broccoli rabe is tender. About 10 minutes.

Remove most of the water from the pan using a ladle or a colander. Leave about ½ cup of water in the pan. Return pan to burner set on medium heat. Drizzle 1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil over broccoli rabe. Season with salt and pepper. Push broccoli rabe to one side of the pan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the open section of the pan. Saute in the olive oil for two minutes. Toss broccoli rabe with the garlic and red pepper flakes.

Meanwhile, lightly brush a drizzle of olive oil on a grill pan. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Place sausage on pan and brown on all sides. About 10-15 minutes.

Once the turkey sausage is browned, add to the broccoli rabe mixture. Cover the pan and heat through over medium-low heat.

Serve on crusty rolls.

BLT....With a Twist

So one night in September, when the Jersey tomatoes were still around here in all their sweet, delish glory, I decided to make us some BLTs.

I know, I know. We’re now in October when pumpkins should be on the brain. But I had mixed emotions about posting this recipe. I mean, it’s just a BLT.

But, I did make it with a special Suzie touch: Lemon Scallion Mayonnaise. So, I thought dear readers, you would want to know about this sandwich. Or as the people in my hometown say, sangwich.

Anyway, Mark does not groove on mayo, but he totally digs scallions and lemony things, so I thought I would try to spice up the condiment. Because in my humble opinion, it ain’t no BLT without the mayo.

When I assembled the BLTs, my fellow Aries husband and I had a great debate regarding the way in which to stack the sandwich. (Aries people are VERY opinionated, in case you didn’t know.) Does the B come before the T followed by the L? Should ingredients follow the order of the name: the B, the L, the T.

You get the picture.

Of course, a bottle of wine and being really hungry makes you realize: Does this debate really matter?

So…..we went with Mark’s suggestion: Tomato, Lettuce, Bacon. This kind of baffled me, but I went with it. It totally tasted amazing and that’s all that counts. Mark thought the bacon should be on top so that my devoted readers could see it in his pic. Isn’t he thoughtful?

Mark also thought we should make the sandwiches in an open face style. He said that’s how his Moms did it back in the day. Plus, less bread is better for you I suppose. The open-faceness prompted us to dine with utensils which made me feel like I was totally in the “Seinfeld” episode where everybody’s eating candy bars and cookies with a fork and knife and Elaine is like, WTF?

I guess in this scenario, I’m Elaine.

To go with the BLTs, I served the Barefoot Contessa’s Cheddar Corn Chowder. I was making bacon for the BLT’s and I had a ton of fresh corn that I had boiled a week earlier and frozen, so the stars aligned for my menu.

The corn chowder recipe is on the FN Web site and in "The Barefoot Contessa" Cookbook. I cut the recipe way in half. Ina Garten’s recipes are always big enough to feed an army – or your fabulous group of gays and ladies who lunch from East Hampton.

Sigh, I wish I was Ina Garten. An estate in the Hamptons, a flat in Paris, an amazing collection of le Creuset, a group of fellas who can help you buy shoes and decorate your house.

Well, a girl can dream.

Here’s the BLT recipe. Enjoy! Feel free to make it closed-face if you desire. Ha ha!

BLT with Lemon Scallion Mayo
Makes 4 open-face sandwiches

12 strips of bacon, cooked. Lay on paper towels to drain oil
4 romaine leaves, washed and dried
2 tomatoes, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Lemon Scallion Mayo (recipe follows)
4 slices of fav bread, toasted

Spread toast with thin layer of mayo. Layer tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Layer romaine on top of tomatoes, then two or three strips of bacon per sandwich.

Lemon Scallion Mayo
3 Tbsp. Hellmann’s mayonnaise
Zest of one medium lemon
1 small scallion, minced
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp. black pepper.

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Spread on your fav sandwich.

Get Your Panini On

A panini is a little slice of heaven. Or as my niece Sophia says, “The best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.” She grooves on the basic American cheese panini. However, the world of panini is an open book when it comes to ingredients. In the summer, we like to have tomato and mozzarella panini. The highlight of the sandwich is the amazing Jersey tomato, which tastes like sweet summer sunshine. Of course, fresh basil pesto and a thick slice of mozzarella make everything taste better in my opinion. So, I guess you could say this sandwich is perfection.

If you've never had a panini, it's a thin sandwich that is pressed down and cooked. It's fabulous, and I highly recommend that you give a panini a whirl.

But first thing's first:

If you don’t know how to make pesto, here’s a how-to: 

 Basil Pesto 

 1 bunch of fresh basil 

A couple cloves of garlic 

A handful of grated parmesan or romano cheese 

Olive oil 

Salt and pepper 

 Put all the ingredients in your food processor and grind away until a bright green basily-garlicky paste has formed. You should scrape the sides at least once and blitz the processor again. 

 You’re probably thinking, “Where are the measurements, Susan.” 

There aren’t any. Pesto is one of those recipes where you just have to just feel it. You may want more garlic or more cheese or more pepper. It’s so based on your own taste. You dig? 

 You may also be scratching your head thinking, “Girlfriend, that ain’t pesto. Where are the pine nuts?” Good catch. There’s two reasons, actually, that pine nuts aren't part of my pesto program. 

First, this is a family pesto recipe. Mommom never used pine nuts, so Susan totally doesn’t use pine nuts. Second, pine nuts don’t make there way into my kitchen because I have a crazy, life-threatening food allergy to nuts. So, if you want to get your pine nut on, go for it! Make sure you toast them before you throw them in the processor. 

 Of course, you could cheat and just buy pesto. I’m not judging. 

 To make my panini, I use a grill pan and the old-fashioned le Creuset panini press, which requires a little muscle. Good thing I work out. If you don’t have a panini press or one of the fancy schmancy bazillion dollar panini machine-like contraptions, you could just place a filled teapot on top of a basic pan to get the pressed down panini affect. 

But I really truly and honestly recommend the le Creuset press. It is made of awesome. 

 So here’s how you make the panini: 

  Tomato and Mozzarella Panini 

1 loaf of crusty Italian bread, sliced 

Jersey tomatoes, sliced

Fresh mozzarella, sliced 

Pesto 

Olive oil 

 Spread a thin layer of pesto on one side of the sliced bread. 

Layer mozzarella and tomato. Season tomato with a touch of salt and pepper. Place one more layer of mozzarella on top of the tomato layer. Place a slice of bread on top to make a sandwich. 

 With a pastry brush, brush olive oil on the top and bottom pieces of bread that make your sandwich.

 Fire up the stove to heat your grill pan, or turn on your panini maker. I like to cook mine over medium heat. Place two sandwiches on the grill pan. Place your panini press on top of the sandwiches and press on down. You should hear an exciting sizzle. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. If you’re making them for company, you can assemble the sandwiches ahead of time and cook right before serving.

Please note: Tomato and Mozzarella Panini may also be made without pesto. Just rub fresh a cut piece of fresh garlic over the bread before assembling the sandwich. Place fresh basil leaves on top of tomato after seasoning with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil.