Beef Pepper Steak

Tonight, Kevin was in charge of dinner.  When I left this morning, I didn't know whether he would make one of his great stand-by dishes such as meatloaf, stuffed cabbage, or lemon chicken, or he could have decided to make Hamburger Helper.  Any of these would have been good simply because he cooked.  Most of the time I monopolize the kitchen and the menu for the week.  He seldom gets to cook but when he does, it is usually good!

He found this recipe on about.com under southern foods.  Sometimes the simplest ingredients yield a really great meal.  We had this served with mashed potatoes.  Pepper steak serves 6

Beef Pepper Steak

3 tablespoons butter or oil
1 1/2 pounds round or flank steak
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cups canned tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 bay leaves
3 large green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 cup cold water

1.  Heat butter over medium high heat, brown meat, which has been cut into 1/4-inch wide strips.

2.  Brown the meat in 2 or 3 batches so that each batch just covers the bottom of the skillet without crowding. Remove meat and set aside.

3.  Reduce heat, saute onions for 5 minutes. Return meat to skillet, add remaining ingredients except peppers, cornstarch, soy sauce and water.

4. Add peppers, which have been seeded and cut in 1/2-inch strips, simmer covered for 10 minutes. Blend cornstarch, soy sauce and water in small dish; stir into meat mixture.

5.  Cook until thick and clear, about 1 minute.