ITALIAN BEEF AND PEPPER SANDWICHES WITH CARAMLIZED ONIONS

Beef|Casseroles|Ciao Bella|Italian

Ingredients

The Beef:

1, 2-3 pound beef chuck roast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 teaspoons Dish off the Block Ciao Bella Italian Spice Blend

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large green bell peppers, cut into 1” thick strips

1, 16 ounce jar banana peppers

2-3 cups beef stock

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1, 5 ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes, julienned and packed in oil

The Caramelized Onions:

5 tablespoons butter

4 large sweet onions, cut into very thin rounds

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

The Bread and Cheese:

8 French bread or hoagie rolls

6 tablespoons butter, softened

16 slices provolone cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Season the chuck roast liberally on all sides with the salt, pepper, and Ciao Bella Italian Seasoning. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat and sear the meat on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Add the onions, garlic, and green peppers to the pan drippings and stir them around the meat. Add the banana peppers to the pan including all of the juices from the jar.

Add the beef stock and Worcestershire to the pan. Give a quick stir so everything is well combined. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 1 hour and remove the pan from the oven. Flip the meat over and place it back in the oven for another hour. Flip the meat over again and cook for another 30-45 minutes until the meat is falling apart. Shred the meat in the cooking liquid with 2 forks. Add the jar of sundried tomatoes and stir to combine. Keep warm on the stovetop until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.

While the beef cooks, make the caramelized onions. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the onions, sugar, and salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring very frequently, until they are very soft, about 30-40 minutes. You do not want them to sear or brown, so turn the heat down if you start to see this start to happen. This is a ‘low and slow’ cooking process. When they are very soft and begin to turn a golden caramel color reduce the heat to a low simmer and keep warm until ready to serve.

Cut the rolls in half, lengthwise and spread butter on the cut sides. Place, buttered side up on a foil lined baking sheet and toast for 4-5 minutes until golden.

To assemble the sandwiches, place ripped slices of provolone on top of each roll to cover. Then place a heaping amount of beef on the bottom side of each roll (on top of the cheese). Then top the beef mixture with 2 more slices of provolone. Place the sandwiches (open-face) in the oven for another 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted. Place a generous amount of the caramelized onions on the top of each sandwich and cover with the top roll. DEVOUR!