Make Hay While The Sun Shines

Loving my new crockpot. I didn't intend to melt the cord on the old one a few weeks ago, but it worked out okay. I really like this new digital model. I kept forgetting to buy a new pot until one day as I was shopping in Target, I got a "ping" on my smartphone. It was a comment on the blog post about my ruined crockpot! A reminder that I needed a new one. And you thought blogging was a frivolous hobby.

I spent a lot of my day in the kitchen. It's a rare day when I can do this and I took full advantage. I usually have several things in my freezer to pull out on a really busy day. But we had pretty much used everything up. That's a good thing, because frozen foods don't keep forever. But it was time to put things back in. I love it when part of my supper recipe can be added to the freezer for later. With just two of us here, that's better than endless leftovers. While the pepper steak was slow cooking, I made spaghetti sauce to freeze, too. If I just happen to make a trip to see Jessica, Granddaddy (now known as Daddy-O) won't starve.

This recipe came from a friend of my mother's many years ago. I think maybe it was a Weight Watchers recipe way before "points" of any kind were a thought. This is another of those "no need to write it down" recipes because it is so easy to remember---two of everything (more or less.) I'm writing it down just for you. I made this often when the girls were home and in school.

Pepper Steak

2 lb. round steak, cut across the grain in 1-inch strips

2 green peppers, cut into strips

2 medium onions, cut into strips

2 15-oz. cans whole tomatoes, broken up (today I used one 28-oz. can)

2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

Brown steak quickly in a hot skillet. Add to a 4-5 qt. crockpot with other ingredients. Stir to mix. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.

We like this served over yellow rice. Made a really good supper tonight.

The only thing I did special for this was to pour the tomatoes into the skillet after I had browned the meat and stirred them around to loosen all the browned bits before adding to the crockpot. Don't want to waste all that good flavor. It really makes a richer broth. I have also put everything in the pot without browning the meat if I was in a hurry. That works, too, but try to find a couple of extra minutes. You'll be glad you did. 

It's hay season here. Granddaddy cut hay this weekend. He's just waiting for it to cure before he can bale it. And you thought, "Make hay while the sun shines" was just an old saying. Can you see the hay laying in rows in the field? That's a lot of work.

Pattern: Summer Flies

Yarn:  Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn

Needles: Size 7

While he was working hard on the tractor, I was working not nearly as hard finishing my latest knitting project. At least I feed him well.