So even though its still ‘technically’ summer, Calgary weather has decided to be one moody son of a gun and present itself like legit winter this week. For the first 2 days, I’ve been a complete grump and in a semi rage about it but then I shifted gears, retreated to the kitchen and started cooking comforting/warming foods.

I ran out to my little garden and tried to salvage anything I had left because I knew the frost would take them out. I found some beauty bell peppers and decided I had to make something with them.

My apologies right off the hop…I normally take pics throughout the cooking process so you get a play by play but yesterday I was just experimenting and puttering about and I didn’t think this dish would be as delicious as it was so I didn’t take any photos except for the end product.

Okay so lets get started shall we? Get all of your ingredients ready…steak sliced in to thin strips, yellow, green and bell peppers, onion, garlic cloves, tomato paste, beef broth, smoked paprika, oregano, chilli flakes, arrowroot starch, salt and pepper and honey (sugar if you aren’t doing paleo).

First you want to heat a bit of oil in the pan on medium high. Then, sprinkle a bit of smoked paprika and arrowroot powder (use flour if you aren’t doing paleo) on the beef strips and mix. Throw the beef mixture in to the pan, along with the garlic and mix around. Because you added the arrowroot powder and the smoked paprika and you are searing the beef, you will create some lovely brown bits in the pan. Once the beef is browned on the outside, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, sauté your peppers and onions for 2 minutes until the onions have had a chance to cook down a bit and sweat it out. Now add your beef back in and stir to combine everything. Next you will add the remaining smoked paprika, oregano, tomato paste, little bit of chilli flakes and beef broth and mix completely. Let this cook for a few minutes until the beef is fully cooked and the peppers are cooked a bit more. *Optional, you can add a bit of sweet to this lovely dish by adding a tsp of honey or sugar to the mix. Honestly, it will bring out the flavours so much.

Make a slurry. What’s a slurry you ask? Well its a simple method of combining a starch and a bit of water together because it will act as a thickening agent when you add to your sauce. You can do this with flour, corn starch, arrowroot powder and tapioca. In this case because I’m trying to keep things paleoish this month, I’m using arrowroot powder. I just took about 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder (remember we used a bit of it to sprinkle over the raw beef first) and a little bit of water to ensure there are no clumps.

Add the slurry to the beef/pepper mixture and stir. Watch that sauce thicken up and have a glorious shine. You are pretty much ready to serve. You can eat this on it’s own because it’s delicious or you can serve it with a side of rice or egg noodles if you want.

Honestly, my family went for seconds and my little guy gave it 2 thumbs up and said that all the thumbs in the entire solar system and galaxy would also go up so there you have it…it’s kid approved.

Beef with Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 Striploin steaks cut in to thin strips
• 1 red, yellow and green bell pepper cut in to strips
• 1 white onion cut in to strips
• 1 Tbsp oil of your choice (I used avocado oil)
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or your preferred starch, flour etc)
• 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (more or less depending on how much heat you want)
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt, pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat deep dish skillet on medium high heat with oil
2. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of smoked paprika, salt, pepper and a little bit of the arrowroot powder over the raw beef strips. Combine so that the strips are coated.
3. Add beef to hot pan & brown. Add your minced garlic in there as well while the beef is cooking.
4. Remove beef and set aside
5. In the same pan, sauté the peppers and onions for a few minutes to get them cooking.
6. Add the beef back in, remaining smoked paprika, beef broth, chilli flakes, oregano, honey (or sugar) and tomato paste. Stir everything together and ensure there are no tomato paste clumps.
7. In a separate bowl, make a slurry of remaining arrowroot powder and a little bit of water. You want to make sure the mixture is smooth and has no clumps.
8. Add slurry to the pan and stir. Watch this thicken up the mixture.
9. Serve on it’s own or with a side of rice or egg noodles