When I was a youngin’, one of my all-time favorite meals was ‘beef and noodles’ (preferably served with mashed potatoes, please). It was a simple dish: noodles, brown gravy, and diced steak. And I was in love.
When I was older, I realized that my mom only made the brown gravy for my brother and I (we both tend to have the palate of a 4 year old). What she was making was pepper steak dinner, but because we were wussies and didn’t like onions, peppers, or tomatoes, she would pick out some plain steak and add a little gravy for us. None of those nasty peppers. Or onions. Or chunky tomatoes. My momma spoiled us.
At any rate, I loved my brown gravy and beef, so when I got married, one of the first dishes I made was my ‘beef and noodles’. I was so proud. Ben ate two plates. Score!
After dinner, he came to me with a slightly timid look on his face. He mumbled, “Britt, I really liked your beef and noodles, but next time, could you make it like your mom does, with the onions and peppers and stuff?”
WHAT?!?!?
Defeat. Bittersweet defeat.
After I pouted for an hour or so, I called my mom and got the recipe.
3 years later, I still make the pepper steak dinner often for Ben. And I still make myself a pot of brown gravy, and pick out some plain meat sans the gross peppers. And onions. And chunky tomatoes.
I’m still a wussie.
This dish is easy to make, takes little prep time, and is budget friendly. It goes a long way, too. And the males in my family with grown-up taste buds say it tastes pretty good!
Here’s the recipe:
Pepper Steak Dinner
1 1/2 pounds of round steak
1 green pepper
1/2 onion
2 beef bullion cubes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup water
Salt
Pepper
Dice up your pepper and onion. Cut your steak into 1 inch cubes. I use round bottom steak because its cheap, but you could use breakfast steak, stir fry, or whatever else floats your boat. Add a little olive oil to a skillet, and add your chopped veggies and steak. Let it simmer until the meat is fully cooked.
Then add 2 beef bullion cubes and 1 cup of water to the skillet on low to medium heat. Add your Worcestershire sauce, diced tomatoes, and garlic next. Let this simmer until the beef bullion cubes are dissolved. I let mine simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low-medium heat after I’ve added all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve this over rice or noodles (I usually use whole wheat egg noodles) and enjoy!
Have a blessed Wednesday 🙂
