Recipe Wednesday {Beef with Peppers}

*Disclaimer: there are no pictures of this particular food item, because lighting in my house is yucky and I haven't mastered taking a good pic except in daylight.  And this was night.  Sorry.

My mom used to make pepper steak and I always loved it.  I bought some steak cubes and wanted to do something with them, but it was in the middle of the night for her, and I'm sure she would not have appreciated a phone call at 3am just to get that recipe.  So I googled it.  And of course, as most of my recipes lately do, this one came from the Pioneer Woman.  (With a few tweaks, because there is no Sherry available here, nor did I have red chile paste.)

And it. is. amazing.  That marinade.  Yum.

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Beef with Peppers

prep time: 15 min

cook time: 15 min

servings: 2

1/2 pound beef (flank steak is recommended)

Slice steak very thin against the grain.

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1.5 T vanilla

1 T brown sugar

1 T corn starch

1 cloves garlic, minced

few dashes of red chili powder (unless you aren't a spicy lover)

Mix together and place sliced beef in the mixture and toss to coat.  Set aside.

Other ingredients:

2 T oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced in rings

Heat 1 T oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook for less than a minute.  Remove to separate plate. 

Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat, and add bell peppers.  Cook for a minute, tossing, until peppers have brown/black bits but are still firm.  Remove to a plate. 

Return skillet to heat and allow to get hot.  Add the remaining T of oil to the skillet.  Add as much meat as will fill in the skillet, evenly distributed over the surface of the skillet.  Allow to sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then turn.  Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a separate plate.  Repeat with remaining meat.

Reduce heat to low.  Add all meat, onions, and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine.  Pour in remaining sauce (which the meat was marinated in) and stir.  Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes.  Sauce will slowly thicken.

Serve over rice or rice noodles.

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So since there are no pictures of the food, here is a picture of the trees in my backyard.  They are lovely, don't you think?