Beef Pepper Steak

After a week-long of Fat Flush Dieting, hubby and I are in our next phase of dieting. Calorie counting. I use a great website, Sparkpeople, to help track my calories. The last time I religiously calorie counted using Sparkpeople was about 4 years ago, before I became pregnant with my daughter. I lost almost 15 pounds in 3 months. I'm hoping to lose the same amount again. But we'll see.

What's great about calorie counting is that we can eat whatever we want in moderation (unlike the Fat Flush Diet where the food was disgustingly bland). So yesterday, we went shopping at Costco and bought all kinds of protein: beef, chicken, pork. I wanted to find a recipe to use some of the beef I had just bought and I found this great recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago? It was so simple to make and even more delicious to eat. I haven't had a good beef stir-fry in a while and I'm glad I made this one. Hubby and daughter gave me a thumbs-up for this one.

oil for sauteing

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. lean steak, cut into strips

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce

salt & pepper to taste

1) Place beef strips in a medium bowl and add 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch. Massage cornstarch into meat and refrigerate for an hour.

2) In a skillet or wok, heat oil at medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onion is softened. Add prepared beef and cook until brown and no longer pink.

3) Add bell pepper and continue cooking until bell peppers are softened. Stir in 1/2 cup water, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Use the liquid to scrape off the brown bits that form on the bottom of the pan. Bring sauce to a boil.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water. Stir in cornstarch mixture into pan to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over white rice.