Philly Cheesesteak

Who doesn't love a crusty roll filled with steak, peppers and onions and mushrooms, and topped off with a flavorful cheese sauce? If you think eating more healthfully means you can't have your Philly cheesesteak and eat it, too, you're wrong. March's issue of Cooking Light was a bonanza of Weight Watcher-friendly meals. I find the recipes in CL far tastier and "real" than those in WW's magazine, which I don't plan to renew my subscription to.

Serves 4
1 (12 oz) flank steak, trimmed
salt and pepper
2 (5 inch) portobello mushroom caps
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp lower-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup 1% lowfat milk
1 oz provolone cheese, torn into small pieces
2 tbs grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 tsp dry mustard
4 (3 oz) hoagie rolls, toasted

Place beef in freezer for 15 minutes. Cut beef across the grain into thin slices. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Remove and discard brown gills from underside of mushroom caps using a spoon. Remove stems and discard. Thinly slice mushroom caps, then cut slices in half crosswise.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tsp oil and swirl to coat. Add beef to pan and saute 2 minutes or until beef loses its pink color, stirring constantly. Remove beef from pan. Add remaining teaspoon of oil to pan. Add onions; saute 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, peppers, and garlic and saute 6 minutes. Return beef to pan and saute 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire and soy sauce; keep warm.

Place flour in a small saucepan and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add cheeses and mustard, stirring until smooth. Keep warm.

Hollow out top and bottom halves of bread, leavaing a 1/2 inch shell. Divide the beef mixture evenly among bottom halves of hoagies. Drizzle sauce evenly over beef mixture and replace top halves.

N.I. 397 cal; 12.4 g fat; 30.8 g prot; 44.1 g carb; 3.7 g fiber
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TASTE NOTES
The last Philly cheesesteak I ate was loaded with grease and grizzle, which I discovered after I ate a few hundred calories worth of cheese. These sandwiches were perfect! As much as I love bread, it's the crust I crave, so hollowing out the hoagies didn't bother me at all. The cheese sauce made a small amount of cheese taste positively sinful. I had to set aside half the recipe since I made this for dinner along with a salad, but I'm looking forward to an "encore" tomorrow night. Another CL hit and for just 10 points plus.