Easy Recipe: Puerto Rican-Styled Pepper Steak

Thank goodness the holidays are over and done with.  Aren’t you glad? I’m so over Christmas, the tree, the lights, the food (well almost) and all the gifts.  All the hoopla is now gone from my system.  Now it’s time to concentrate on something I haven’t done in a few weeks and that is to post my succulent recipes. I know you all have been waiting. 😉

Last night I made one of my family’s favorite dish — Puerto Rican-Styled Pepper Steak.  It’s an easy recipe that I created with the help of my mom’s expertise in steaks.  This recipe is not a “real” recipe because I never sat down to write down the ingredients/instructions step by step, I took the “Willy-Nilly” approach just like Carolyn from “Willy-Nilly” is generally how I cook too.

Puerto Rican-Styled Pepper Steak

Here’s what you need:

— A Large Pot
— 2 Pounds of Cubed Steak – Cut each steak in half (same steak you would use for chicken fried steak)
— 1 small green pepper (sliced)
— 1 small yellow onion (sliced)
— 4 garlic cloves (grated)
— two tablespoons of sofrito
— two tablespoons of olive oil
— 1 small can of tomato sauce
— Water (enough water to cover the steaks – you don’t want it too watery)
— 3 potatoes (cut in four pieces) [This will help thicken the steak sauce]
— Seasonings: 1 packet each of Sazon Goya with Culantro & Achoite & ham flavored concentrate, adobo, cumin, garlic and onion powder, 2 bay leaves, oregano and black pepper. (I don’t measure any of the seasonings — I just add to taste so I can’t really tell you how much seasoning I actually add onto the dish)

***Optional: You can also add either corn starch or flour to help thicken the sauce if you like it thicker. I sometimes mix about 1/4 of a cup of cold water and one tablespoon of cornstarch in a cup. Stir it until all lumps are gone and add it to the steak. Stir well and keep cooking til meat is tender.***

Instructions:

First, take your pot and heat it on medium heat. Add your olive oil then add your sofrito and saute.

After a few minutes, add the sliced pepper and onions and saute for a few minutes.

After you saute the onions & peppers add tomato sauce and your seasonings.  Mix that around and then add your steaks on top of the mixture.

Add the grated  garlic on top of the steaks and then add water.  After the water, throw in your potatoes. Give it one last mix and cover.

This will cook for about 1 hour – 1-1/2 hours.

[Note: I apologize for not adding a photo of the completed dish in the pot. When it was done, I was too starving so I forgot. lol]

You may have to add more water after 40 minutes or so.  I always tend to add more so have a cup of water handy. This dish is typically served alongside some yummy arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas) like you see below (minus the bay leaf that is attached to a piece of steak, lol).

Happy Cooking! Buen Provecho!

For more Sabroso (Tasty) Saturday recipes, be sure to check out Latina on a mission’s weekly blog hop!