Pepper Steak... I've got this covered!

Pepper Steak.  I got an email today from one of my favorite followers… (ok you’re all my favorites…) but she asked me for a recipe for pepper steak and was sure I’d be a lifesaver and have one for her.  So as not to let her down, I immediately wrote her back and said “NO PROBLEM! I GOT THIS COVERED!”

So I started going through all of my recipes, cook books, magazines, the dusty memory, as not to let her down and found out that I have about 17 different recipes for Pepper Steak and none of them are the same!   There’s traditional, there’s au poivre, there’s Chinese, there’s Hungarian… you get where I’m going with this!  There’s a lot!  So what’s a girl to do… well, I’ll tell ya what I did… I’m going with my old faithful, easy tried and true delicious recipe that I got from… you guessed it… MOM!

We probably ate this a couple times a month and let me tell you, no one made it like my mom… well until I started to that is… I’ve varied it a bit from how she used to make it, but it’s simply delicious and some pretty darn good Pepper Steak if I do say so myself! 

So this one’s for you Toni… thank you for following and I hope this recipe replaces the one you misplaced! 

Pepper Steak

1 ½ lbs beef top round steak or flank steak (I use flank)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon heavy cream

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon butter

1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

2 whole tomatoes, petite diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup cold water

Slice the beef into strips on an angle- about 2- 3 inches- (it might help if the beef is slightly frozen to slice easier)

In a large skillet heat olive oil and add the peppers and the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and celery and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from skillet and set aside. 

Add beef and cook until brown… a little caramelization is ok on the beef.  Remove and set aside. 

Add chicken broth, soy sauce, pepper, peppercorns, Worcestershire, butter and heavy cream and make sure to scrape up all the goodies from the bottom of the pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes and add beef and pepper mixture.  Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. 

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with the water and stir into the pan stirring until the sauce thickens… should a take minute or two.

Serve over butter rice… spooning the sauce over the top.