Barbecued Chicken Cheese Steaks with Caramelized Onions and Peppers

Talk about next level! Cheese steaks are great. And chicken cheese steaks are equally fabulous. Now take that seared chicken and glaze it up with a homemade sweet-and-sour barbecue sauce and you have the BEST cheese steak sandwich you've ever had. Even BEFORE you gussy it up with sweet caramelized onions and bell peppers.

Why didn't someone (including me) think of this before? We could eat cheese steaks every week, but let's face it, that could get pretty boring. Seared meat and cheese on a roll. But when you add all the flavor of barbecue sauce (made with pantry staples I might add), that sandwich becomes something worthy of a medal. A gold medal.

Let's say you want to make this sandwich (to experience a truly awesome meal), but don't feel like whisking together the BBQ sauce ingredients? No problem! Substitute your favorite bottled variety. BUT, what I like amount MY sauce is that the BBQ flavor isn't intense, so it won't overpower the sandwich and deter from the goal of creating a "better" cheese steak. This isn't a barbecued chicken sandwich, it's a cheese steak sandwich.

Barbecued Chicken Cheese Steaks with Caramelized Onions and Peppers

For the BBQ sauce: 
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
For the sandwich: 
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
4 sandwich rolls or hoagie rolls, warmed if desired (6-8 minutes in a 300-degree oven)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are dark brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a separate skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, stirring frequently. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the broth mixture to the chicken and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces and the chicken is coated with the sauce, stirring frequently.
Halve the rolls lengthwise and fill them with the chicken, onions and pepper. Top the filling with cheese and serve (if the cheese doesn't melt right away, pop the sandwiches in a 300-degree oven for 5 minutes).
Serves 4