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• Ingredients
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. beef round steak, cut into thin strips
• Ground pepper, to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 cups beef broth, divided
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch
• Salt to taste
• 2 tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges

Heat olive oil in skillet. Stir in steak and stir fry until it’s browned. Sprinkle with ground pepper. Stir in garlic and let cook for a minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in soy sauce and 1/2 cup beef broth. Simmer, covered, over low heat until the beef is tender. Stir in bell pepper, onion, celery, and 1 cup beef broth. Simmer, covered, over medium heat until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and remaining 1/2 cup beef broth. Once the vegetables are cooked, gently stir in the cornstarch and stir over heat until the sauce turns transparent and begins to simmer. Check for salt at this point. Gently stir in the tomatoes and let simmer about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are heated all the way through. Serve over rice or a squash bowl.

NOTES: In the photos I’m using a beef cut called Beef Milanesa. It’s a round steak sliced very, very thin. Usually I use Beef Milanesa cut to make Rouladen. But this time I sliced it short-wise and threw it into the skillet. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t slice the meat this thin. This was my mother’s recipe and I grew up eating this dish. I wrote the recipe down when I was a teenager. Since then I’ve mostly done this from memory and I’ve made a couple little tweaks to the way I like it. For one thing, I like my vegetables soft so most people will think this is overcooked. Just do it the way you like it. I really dislike chewy meat, so I err on the side of really cooking it until falling apart. Again, you do you. This is a very saucy dish. Ha. If you would like more sauce, or less, keep in mind the ratio for a medium sauce is 1 Tbsp. cornstarch to 1 cup liquid. FYI, the cornstarch will only dissolve in cold liquid, so you must dissolve it before adding to your dish. Voila!

Can we talk about beef? Since Covid, the price of beef in Alaska, where I’m located, is too expensive. It’s been a very long time since I cooked with it. I found the “Beef Milanesa” cut on sale at a couple different grocery stores, so I bought it. My husband and I have been taking cruise vacations lately, and we seldom order any entree except beef or shellfish. The beef because we’re not eating it at home and the shellfish because we both dearly love it.

A story: I was on a cruise in the Mediterranean recently and sat next to a Swede at lunch. We had both ordered the Chicken Satay for an appetizer. When the meal was over and the waiter came to ask how everything was, the Swede commented that the Chicken Satay was overcooked. I thought it was perfect. My brother always says I am the SLOWEST eater. It’s because I can’t chew like other people, I guess. Anyway, overcooked (read TENDER) meat for me! Different strokes for different folks!