It Was a Meat and Potatoes Night

DH wanted steak, and he was looking at my list (yes, I make lists) of meals that I could fix, so he selected this meal. I haven't made it in a long time, since it has potatoes in it, but I relented and made it for him. It throws together in less than 20 minutes, so it could easily be a weeknight after-work meal. I call it Pepper Steak because it has both bell peppers and black pepper. I use a garlic pepper blend made by McCormick, and if that's unavailable, you could substitute equal parts garlic salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Tonight I made half of the amount the recipe called for since it's just DH and me.

Pepper Steak and Potatoes



4 medium potatoes, sliced 1/4"
2 Tbsp. water
1 lb. sirloin, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. garlic pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips

Put potatoes and water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 6-10 minutes or until tender. While potatoes cook, toss beef with garlic pepper and heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add beef to skillet and toss 3 minutes. Remove beef. Add green pepper to skillet; toss 3 minutes. Add potatoes; sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Add beef; toss until heated through. Season with salt. 4 Servings.

Dessert was a small bowl of ice cream, with my homemade praline nut topping. I've found a "carb select" vanilla ice cream at the supermarket that has a net of 3 grams of carbs per serving. It tastes great! And it's not that air-filled slow-churned crap that the major brands have all started making. You do understand, don't you, that it's just a way to make more money - use less liquid and more air in a carton of ice cream, and call it something creative like slow-churned. Yuck. Anyway, my nut topping is very low in carbs.

Praline Nut Topping
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons Splenda Brown Sugar blend
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat and stir over medium heat until butter and brown sugar have melted. Let cook one more minute. Immediately pour over two bowls of vanilla ice cream. (If you let it cool, it hardens.)


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