September is probably my favorite month of the year. The kids are back in school, the weather has cooled off a bit, and most importantly football is back!! I love having people over for the opening weekend and usually have the fells over to partake in a day of eating and football watching. One food that is always a hit are sliders!! So, instead of serving up the same old burgers or BBQ, I made 3 tasty classic sliders with a twist to serve up this coming weekend.
I’m a huge fan of Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches so I knew they were a must on the menu. I wanted to add a little twist, so I incorporated a little Chicago love into them by placing the thinly sliced roast beef into a slow cooker along with some beef stock and some Italian dressing seasonings to give it an Italian beef flavor. No offense to the beef on a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, but the flavor in Italian beef is far superior and full of flavor 🙂
I cooked the beef for about an hour on high heat until it started to easily pull apart and then placed them in mini hoagie sliders. I topped them off with some shredded provolone cheese and some peppers and onions. I first roasted up the peppers and onions in a hot sauté pan with olive oil until they were caramelized and tender. Caramelizing the peppers and onions just adds so much flavor to these sandwiches, so don’t you dare put them on raw!! From there, you cover them in foil and bake them up in the oven until they’re hot and the cheese is melted. Serve them up with a side of the seasoned beef stock from the slow cooker – SO GOOD!
Philly Cheese Steak Sliders
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups of beef stock
- 1 packet of Italian dressing seasonings
- 1 pound of thinly sliced roast beef
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 each seeded and sliced red and green bell pepper
- ½ peeled and thinly sliced yellow onion
- 4 ounces of shredded provolone cheese
- 12 mini hoagie rolls
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Add the stock, seasonings and roast beef to a slow cooker and cook on high heat for 1 hour. Keep warm.
Add the olive oil to a large saute pan on high heat and caramelize the peppers and onions. Once browned, keep warm.
Place the buns in an oven safe pan and evenly place the roast beef into the hoagie rolls. Top off with shredded cheese and roasted peppers and onions.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve hot.
The second sandwich slider I did was a pepperoni pizza slider, but it tasted more like a pepperoni margherita pizza, which is better in my opinion. I first laid down a bed of shredded mozzarella cheese so that it protects it from the tomato sauce which can make the lower bun really soggy. The cheese gives it a little barrier.
Next, I added on some crushed tomatoes, seasoned them with salt and pepper and topped off with pepperoni, sliced mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. To really add a little love to these pepperoni pizza sliders, I made a really simple herb butter consisting of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and basil and brushed the top bun with it.
I mean, honestly, it was so good with all of those seasonings and flavors, it was probably the popular slider of the bunch.
Pepperoni Pizza Sliders
INGREDIENTS
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- ½ teaspoon each dry basil and oregano
- 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes
- ¼ pound of sliced pepperoni
- 1 pound mozzarella ball, sliced
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
- 12 mini Kaiser rolls
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a small bowl whisk together the butter, garlic powder, onions powder, basil and oregano until combined. Set aside.
Place the bottom buns in an oven safe pan and evenly spread on the shredded mozzarella.
Spread on the crushed tomatoes and then top off with pepperoni, sliced mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. Add on the top buns.
Brush on the melted butter mixture, cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve hot.
Last but not least, I whipped up a classic: ham and cheese sliders. Of course, I turned up a little bit with the addition of crisp, cooked bacon and shredded smoked gouda and mozzarella. DUDE! The combination of those smoky flavors, ham and sweet Hawaiian roll is ridiculous. For me, this was my favorite slider just because of its simplicity and extremely flavorful ingredients that were packed in a tiny slider sandwich.
Ham & Cheese Sliders
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound of thin sliced deli ham
- 10 strips of crisp cooked bacon
- 8 ounces each shredded smoked gouda and mozzarella
- 12 mini Hawaiian rolls
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Place the bottom buns down in an oven safe pan and evenly add on the ham and bacon.
Top off with both cheeses and the top bun.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve hot.
These three slider recipes are perfect for watching football or for any party you have coming up. Serve them alongside Loaded Slow Cooker Chicken Nachos, Buffalo Chicken Turnovers, and Homemade Pretzels with German Beer Cheese Sauce for a full-on football feast!
