Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers -- When the Cold Gets Inside the Walls Too

First real cold snap hit Monday night — twenty-two degrees by morning, frost on everything, the kind of cold that makes a healthy man walk careful and makes a man with two herniated discs walk like he's crossing a frozen pond in dress shoes. I spent ten minutes getting out of bed Tuesday. Not exaggerating. Ten minutes from flat on my back to upright, each stage negotiated like a hostage situation between my brain and my spine. Connie was already up making coffee. She didn't watch. She's learned not to watch because watching makes me angry and angry makes me slower.

Worked three days this week. Monday I called in, which I've never done for weather in thirty-three years of working outside. Tuesday through Thursday I managed, mostly from the truck, mostly reviewing Danny's work and signing off on inspections. Danny doesn't need me to sign off on anything. Danny could run these jobs blindfolded. The builder knows it. I know it. The only person still pretending otherwise is me, and I'm getting worse at pretending.

Friday I stayed home and made a pot of vegetable beef soup — chuck roast browned in the Dutch oven, onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, beef stock, salt and pepper, a bay leaf. The kind of soup that takes three hours and fills the house with the smell of something being taken care of. I stood at the stove stirring because standing in one spot is easier than sitting and rising, and I thought about Earl, who stood at the mine face for thirty-four years and never once called in sick, and I thought about the difference between toughness and stupidity and how the line between them gets thinner every year.

Connie came home from the clinic Friday evening and ate two bowls of the soup and then she set her spoon down and said, Craig, we need to talk about after. Not if. After. I said after what. She said after construction. After your back decides for you. She said she'd rather we decide than let somebody else decide for us. I said I'd think about it. She said don't think too long. She's right. She's always right. The cold is here and my back is here and December is half gone and somewhere between the soup and the conversation I realized that Connie's quiet phase is over. The case has been presented. The verdict is coming.

The soup on Friday did what it was supposed to do — it held the house together while Connie and I said the hard things out loud. But soup is a one-day reprieve, and the cold wasn’t done, and neither was I. When a week corners you that completely, you want something that fights back a little: beef, heat, something you have to assemble with your hands and slide into the oven and wait on. Cheesesteak stuffed peppers are that dish for me — all the weight of a proper beef dinner without the negotiation of pasta or bread, and they fill the kitchen with the same kind of smell that says somebody in here is still in charge of something.

Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers (any color), halved lengthwise, seeds removed
• 1 lb ribeye steak or shaved beef, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 slices provolone cheese (or 1 cup shredded provolone)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange pepper halves cut-side up in a single layer.
2. Par-bake the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake peppers for 15 minutes, until just beginning to soften. Remove from oven and set aside; leave oven on.
3. Cook the filling. While peppers bake, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly caramelized, about 6–8 minutes.
4. Add the beef. Push vegetables to the side of the skillet. Add the sliced beef and cook, breaking it apart, until browned through, about 4–5 minutes. Stir everything together. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook 1 minute more.
5. Fill the peppers. Spoon the beef and vegetable mixture evenly into each pepper half, pressing it in firmly. Top each pepper with a slice of provolone or a generous handful of shredded cheese.
6. Bake until melted. Return the baking dish to the oven, uncovered, and bake for 15–18 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and beginning to brown at the edges.
7. Rest and serve. Let the peppers rest 5 minutes before serving. Serve directly from the dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 540mg