Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

We've had a slow cooker sitting in a kitchen cupboard for a while... We keep hearing they're great tools, but we've never taken the jump and tried it out. Dad made something in it once or twice, and we actually have a box of that pre-made-crockpot stuff in the freezer.

Anyway, instead of digging out the frozen crockpot box, we took out about 2 pounds of beef and turned it into Slow Cooker Pepper Steak!

Honestly... not sure about the "a slow cooker is a time saver" idea, but I guess it's nice if you want to cook in the morning and go out in the afternoon. It might be more of a time-shifter than a time-saver.

Recipe is from our favorite: AllRecipes.

2 Pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips

Garlic powder

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cube beef bouillon (a.k.a. stock)

1/4 cup hot water

1 tablespoon cornstarch... and sprinkle in more as needed

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 large green bell peppers, chopped

1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

• It would have been ten times easier to buy pre-sliced steak. Slicing the big chunk of beef got messy!
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Brown the beef strips over medium heat, sprinkling with a little garlic powder. When you brown ground beef, you make sure no pink is left. But, remember this is steak. You don't want to over-do it, or you'll end up with some very well-done, tough-to-chew beef.
• Transfer the beef to the slow cooker.
• Dissolve the beef bouillon/stock in the water, then mix in cornstarch (this will make the sauce thicker... you'll probably need to add an extra teaspoon or two toward the end). Pour into slow cooker.
• Stir in onion, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, salt. Leave the green pepper out for now, otherwise it will go mushy.
• Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours.
• Add the green pepper in for the last hour of cooking.

Serve over rice.