Nice to Meat You: Part II

Pepper Steak Paninis

Oh no! A pile of delicious leftover steak, a basket of garden fresh peppers, a couple of hungry boys!?! What is a girl to do? Okay, I am admittedly staging this problem a little bit. It is actually a rare occurrence to have leftover steak around my place. After the other night's dinner of marinated flank steak, I had to stop my fellow diners from taking thirds with the promise that I would use the remaining meat for something delicious. I really love making paninis, they are a fantastic way to use leftover meat or grilled vegetables in a new meal. Knowing I had brightly colored peppers and onions waiting on my counter top and a nice chunk of steak and some slices of sharp cheddar in the fridge, all I had to do on my way home from work was pick up a nice loaf of sourdough to whip up a quick and satisfying batch of grilled sandwiches. I kept this one fairly simply to highlight the flavors of the fresh picked peppers. I think the boys were glad they restrained themselves the other night on their meat-consumption to enjoy this meal!

Ingredients
- 1 small sourdough round loaf, sliced into 1/2" thick pieces
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 assorted bell peppers, seeded and sliced into strips
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
- salt and pepper
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- leftover steak, sliced thin (or pick up some roast beef from the deli)
- sliced sharp cheddar cheese

Turn on your panini press to heat. Meanwhile brush one side of each piece of sliced sourdough with olive oil, set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook peppers and onions over medium, stirring occasionally, until they soften and just begin to turn slightly brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove skillet from stove.

Arrange slices of bread, oiled side down, on a work surface. Layer with a slice of cheese, meat, onion and pepper mixture, and another slice of cheese. Top with a piece of bread, oiled side up.

Arrange sandwiches on panini press and grill until bread begins to turn golden brown and the cheese is melted. Slice in half. Eat up! Easy does it.