my pepper steak

okay, so this is really my mom's recipe, but i've never written it down and haven't made it in so long--and i'm a much better cook than i used to be--that i made a few changes on my own when i made it last night. dave doesn't like this meal, so i rarely make it, but it's one of my favorites. dave's complaint is that the meat is too tough, so i've done a few things to remedy that in this recipe that veers off of my moms.

i forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, so i'll just list them here: a sirloin steak, one green pepper, one small onion, a can of beef consomme, butter, garlic, and rice.

let's get started. first, chop up your green pepper in thin strips,

and your onion. throw them together in a frying pan with a tablespoon of butter, and brown on medium heat until they're crisp-tender.while those are cooking, get your steak out.
cut it in half, width-wise,
then trim off the fat (unless you LIKE to eat fat...and in that case, leave it. and then see a doctor about your inevitable bypass surgery).
now slice your steak into thin strips. i like it REALLY thin, but you can do whatever you want, really.
when your onions and peppers are browned and semi-tender, remove them to a plate.

turn the heat up. in the same pan, throw in a few tablespoons of butter and a teaspoon of chopped garlic (i never chop my own garlic, i just buy it that way in a jar).
now add in your meat. sorry about the dark picture, my hands were all steak-y and i didn't get the flash on. you want the heat to be really high so you can sear the outside of your steak, sealing in the juices so that it will be more tender.
see that one on the top left? that's perfect. don't cook the steak too long or it will get tough. you just want to sear it so outside is completely brown but the inside is still pink.
once your steak is ready, grab a can of beef consomme.

put your peppers and onions back in, then pour the entire can of consomme in, and deglaze the pan on high heat.
once the drippings are all off the bottom, cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 15-20 minutes.
when it's time to eat, put 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl, then add a tablespoon or so of water.
stir until smooth. it should look almost like milk.
pour it into your consomme. you want to turn the consomme into a thicker, gravy-like substance.

stir with a whisk. if it's still too thin (like mine is), add a bit more cornstarch mixed with water.
it'll look like this when you pour it...
and like this when it's done. see how it turned a lighter brown, and it's thicker? perfect.
now serve over rice, and enjoy!

emily's pepper steak

1 sirloin steak
1 green pepper
1 small onion
3 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 can beef consomme
rice

cut your onion and pepper into strips, and brown on medium heat with a tablespoon of butter. remove to a plate, turn your heat up to high, and add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and a teaspoon of garlic. add your steak, searing both sides. do this quickly so it doesn't get overcooked. once it's browned, add the onions and peppers back in and pour in a can of beef consomme to deglaze the pan (get the steak bits off the bottom of the pan). turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15-20 more minutes. right before you're ready to eat, combine 2 tbsp. cornstarch with 1 tbsp. water and stir. pour into your pan, turning the consomme into gravy. serve over rice.

meatloaf

i am having photography woes. since i live in a condo, my kitchen has no windows, so it's dark. there are lots of lights but for some reason, my pictures all come out looking so dark. i can't use the flash because it puts a weird glare on everything and it all looks distorted. so i guess you'll all have to live with my dark photos for now. sorry everyone.

so let's get started. you'll need a pound of ground beef, a packet of lipton beefy onion soup mix, ritz (or saltine) crackers, an egg, salt and pepper, and bbq sauce. some people probably like to use an actual onion instead of a packet of dried onion soup mix, but i despise chopping onions, and well, beefy onion is so good.
put six crackers in a ziploc and smash with a rolling pin. you could use bread crumbs, but why would you when ritz crackers are so buttery and delicious?

now start by cracking an egg into a mixing bowl.
and mix it up with a fork.
then add your ground beef,
your soup mix,

a tablespoon or two of bbq sauce, salt and pepper, and your crackers. i forgot my crackers. don't worry, they're coming up and i will add them, but i wanted to tell you here: add your crackers. don't be dumb like me and forget.
now stick your hands in, and mix mix mix! i use both hands and squish it all up.
i know some people don't like touching raw meat. i love making meatloaf, simply because i get to get my hands really dirty. squish everything together, make sure it's all combined really well.
like this.

now wash your hands. i wash them like seven times because i don't want to get any of that raw meat anywhere. plus your hands get really disgusting.i love this soap.
now form your meat into a loaf. i sort of put it into a ball and then kind of smash it down so it's even-sized. if it's too ball-ish, the middle won't get cooked well enough.
wait. what's this? shoot. i forgot to add my crackers. i knew there was something wrong with this loaf of meat. ugh. so i added my crackers, re-mixed, re-washed, and re-formed. then i stuck it in the oven at 375* for 30-45 minutes. each loaf is different so check it every so often. you may even want to cut it down the middle to make sure it's not pink at all.
look at that. a loaf of meat. with fat on the top. delish.
don'tcha just feel like white trash eating meatloaf? i know i do.

serve with a baked potato (with cheese and steamed broccoli, yum!) i love A-1 sauce on mine too.
and there you have it. classic, easy meatloaf.

meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
6 ritz crackers
1 tbsp. bbq sauce
1 packet lipton beefy onion soup mix
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste

mix up your egg with a fork. then add the rest of the ingredients and combine well with your hands. form into a loaf, and cook at 375* for 30-45 minutes.

ma's pork chops

for some reason, when i hear pork chops, i automatically think of little house on the prairie. i have no idea why. but that's why this recipe is called "ma's" pork chops. because i feel like only people who lived in the middle of nowhere on a prairie would eat them. which is weird, because they're delicious. anyway, let's get started. you'll need some pork chops, oil, butter, salt, pepper, and cream of mushroom soup. dave likes the thin ones (chops, that is), but any chop will do.
pour some oil (1/4 cup) in the bottom of a large skillet, along with a tablespoon of butter. turn the heat to medium high, heating the oil and melting the butter.
slice the ends of the chops like this, through the fat, so they don't curl up as you brown them.
now coat each side in flour,
like so.
put your pork chop in the pan and leave it for a few minutes to brown.

add some salt
and pepper to each side.
i didn't cut the edges of these chops well enough, see how they curled and the chop didn't get brown in the middle? don't let that happen. it will be sad.
see that one in the back? you want it like that.
anyway, now open your can of cream of mushroom soup and pour it into the pan.
i've got to say, dave hates mushrooms. i always feel bad when i make this recipe because he hates them so much. but i don't add extra mushrooms, and he likes the flavor of cream of mushroom soup. he just has to pick out all the little bits of mushroom they put in there. he even emailed campbell's and asked them to make cream of mushroom without the mushroom bits. they said no.

anyway, after you get your cream of mushroom in there, then spread it out and put your pork chops on top of it.
oops. i forgot to pour off the grease. don't forget that step, or you'll have greasy gravy. yuck. pour off the grease before you add your cream of mushroom.

now turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 40 minutes to an hour.
5 minutes before dinner is ready, remove the pork chops to a plate. turn the heat on the stove up to high and get the soup bubbling.
once it's bubbling, add milk 1/4 cup at a time.
stir with a whisk until it's well combined.
once it's the right (gravy) consistency, stop adding milk. let it start bubbling again, then turn the heat off and leave it for a minute or two.
give it one last stir and pour it into a bowl. serve over your pork chops and a baked potato (and with acorn squash, yum). once i've eaten all the peas out of my squash, i like to add some of this gravy and finish the rest of it (the squash). it's a really good meal.
ma's pork chops

4 pork chops
flour
salt & pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
butter
oil
milk

cut the sides of your pork chops, and coat in flour. brown in a skillet with 1/4 cup oil and 1-2 tbsp. butter. once browned, pour in a can of cream of mushroom soup. place the pork chops on top of the soup, cover the pan, and turn heat to low. simmer for 40 minutes to an hour. remove pork chops to a plate, and turn heat to high. add milk to the soup 1/4 cup at a time until you get the right consistency. serve with baked potatoes and squash.