Diane puts up her menu plan for a month from time to time. I thought I'd offer a simple, quick and tasty dish that would be easy to prepare after a work day. We found the recipe in the Baton Rouge Advocate food page.

PEPPER STEAK

1-1/4 lb. round or sirloin steak, 1 inch thick
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (we use fresh garlic + salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (we use fresh minced ginger)
2 medium bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 medium tomatoes
salt and pepper

1) Trim fat from beef; cut into 2 x 1 x 1/4 inch strips. Heat oil in large skillet. Add beef and cook, turning frequently, until brown, about 5 minutes.

2) Stir in water, onion, garlic salt and ginger. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes for round steak, or 5 to 8 minutes for sirloin. Add green pepper strips during last 5 minutes of simmering.

3) Cook rice.(Out of order when using standard rice. Recipe calls for instant. Ha!)

4) Blend cornstarch and soy sauce; stir into beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

5) Cut each tomato into eighths and place on beef mixture. Cover; cook over low heat just until tomatoes are heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice.

Makes four servings.

Notes: When we cooked the beef, much water cooked out. Better to use higher heat and brown small batches, but if it should happen to you, drain the beef when cooked, reserve the liquid, then add enough water to make one cup to complete the recipe. Lyman thinks half of onion should be reserved and added at same time as green pepper for crunchiness. Also add more tomatoes, perhaps double, fresh ones especially, if available. If you use canned tomatoes, drain the tomatoes well, reserving the liquid, and use this liquid as you would your water.