Peppers

I find it very interesting how my taste buds have changed as I've gotten older. Things I wouldn't dare eat when I was little, I now love! Jay says he's very proud of me. One of those things is peppers. I remember in high school my dad paying me $50 to eat one strip of a green pepper that was covered in ranch dressing. $50!! And I gagged on it and burped the taste of that pepper the rest of the night. But you better believe I ate it to get my money :)

Since learning to eat and LOVE Thai food over the past few years, I really have grown to love peppers cooked in things. (Green peppers still aren't my favorites though.) I'm also on the lookout for yummy recipes to make at home with them. Last week I tried a new one that everyone in the whole family loved, even Catherine and Will. And while cooking, they actually ate half of the orange peppers off the cutting board.

Here's the recipe in case you're interested: It's from Good Housekeeping.

Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry

1-2 cups of rice

12 oz beef top round, thinly sliced

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp veg oil

2-3 peppers (red, yellow, orange) thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 in wedges

1. Prepare rice. They recommend using a quick cooking brown rice. I used white rice and cooked it with coconut milk for some extra flavor. I sauteed 1/2 onion in some olive oil for 2-3 mins, added the rice for 2-3 mins. Then I poured the can of coconut milk (I used lite) in a 4 cup measuring cup and added enough water to make a total of 4 cups. Boil until rice is done. This gives the rice a sweet and sticky flavor. Yum!

2. In bowl, combine beef, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp black pepper

3. In 12-in skillet, heat 1 tsp oil on med-high. Add beef in single layer. Cook without stirring, 1 min. Transfer to plate. (Beef will still be pink in center.) Return skillet to med-high without cleaning.

4. Add remaining oil to skillet. Add peppers and garlic; stir-fry for 4-5 mins until crisp/tender. Add tomatoes and remaining sugar. Cook 3 to 4 mins until saucy, stirring.

5. Return beef to skillet. Add remaining black pepper and soy sauce. Cook 1 min (or more until beef is done to your liking). Serve over rice.

Enjoy! And sorry I'm not one of those fancy chefs who takes beautifully elaborate pictures of their final dish. We ate it all instead.