Beef with Peppers and Noodles

I wanted a stir-fry that would wake up the ol' taste buds and this was it! This is from Pioneer Woman's website, and I heated up her original recipe with cayenne, a poblano and a jalapeno. I also used elk steak and it was fabulous. Have all the vegetables, sliced and diced before you begin cooking, because it goes fast.

I used some organic spinach fettucine for the noodles. You can omit the cayenne or one of the peppers if you want to cool it down a bit. It made a lot and I'm so excited for the leftovers tonight.

BEEF WITH PEPPERS AND NOODLES
1-½ pound flank steak, sliced very thin against the grain
½ c. low sodium soy sauce
3 tbs. water
2 tbs. packed brown sugar
2 tbs. cornstarch
1 tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red chile paste (or a few dashes red chile oil, or 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)
2 tbs. canola or olive oil
1 whole medium yellow onion sliced
2 whole red bell peppers, cored and sliced into rings
1 diced fresh poblano pepper
1 diced fresh jalapeno
Red pepper flakes, for sprinkling
Cilantro leaves

Mix together soy sauce, water, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger,

Ginger - use a potato peeler to take off the skin, then mince what you need.

garlic, and chili paste (or chili oil or cayenne).

Place sliced beef in the mixture and toss to coat. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat. When it is very hot, throw in the onions

and cook for less than a minute. Remove to a separate plate. Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat, and add bell peppers (and hot pepper/jalapeno if using.)

Cook for a minute, tossing, until peppers have brown/black bits but are still firm.

Remove to a plate.

Return skillet to heat and allow to get hot. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add 1/3 of the meat mixture, evenly distributing over the surface of the skillet.

Allow to sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then turn with tongs. Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a separate plate. Repeat with remaining meat until all brown.

Reduce heat to low. Add all meat, onions, and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine.

Pour in remaining sauce (the sauce the meat marinated in*) and stir. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes. Sauce will slowly thicken. Turn off heat.
*Update/Note: you can also whip up an extra batch of liquid if you do not want to use the same liquid you use for the meat.

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain, then add 1/2 the noodles to stir fry. Toss together, then add more noodles to taste. Add very hot water if needed to thin.
Top with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

This is one way to beat the winter blahs! Enjoy!