Mom`s Pepper Steak

A recipe Mom has used ever since I can remember. I made a few changes, not to the ingredients, but to the cooking method (ok, I had to sub ingredients one night, and it was just as tasty)

1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into pieces

1/4 cup flour

salt-to taste

black pepper-to taste

1 can french onion soup

1/2 cup ketchup

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

oil or shortning for frying

Mix flour, salt and pepper. dip pieces of steak into flour to coat, and pound into the surface of the meat. Brown in oil, but do not cook through.

Mix together onion soup, and ketchup. Add to meat. Cover. Simmer 1-2 hours until tender. Stir occasionally. Add bell pepper strips, and cook approx 20 more minutes.

Ok, so I changed a few things-that was almost exactly as Mom wrote it, the only exception being the cooking time. She had 20 minutes, and that leaves the meat tougher than we like. So I added time. I generally use venison, and it turns out just as tasty. Tonight when I made it, I did not have french onion soup, so I improvised, using a packet of lipton onion soup mix, and 1 can of beef broth. It turned out great. I also used orange bell pepper, and it was nom. I usually try to cook this in the crock pot, so it has all day, on low, to slow cook. Tonight, I put it all in a sauce pan, and kept it covered, and on low. I would use this method again.

It makes a fairly easy dinner, as prep time goes. And the sauce it creates makes it go great with mashed potatoes, or baked, or pasta, or whatever. :)