Fake Pepper Steak with Fresh Green Beans

Written by Pamela Kay Conoly

I only called it pepper steak so that my kids would eat it when they were little. But, the name stuck, even though, everyone knew it really wasn’t pepper steak. They thought they were eating something fancy and rejoiced when they discovered they could put it on a bun!

This recipe goes back as far as I can remember, but not when I was a child. I don’t know why it was called pepper steak because there were no peppers or green peppers in it. The only pepper is the little bit of ground pepper used for seasoning, but I always season everything with a little bit of ground pepper. It is garnished with fresh green beans from the produce in the store or your own garden. As long as the green beans are not overcooked, it lends a wonderful touch to this very economic meal.

2 lbs fresh ground, lean beef

3 cups saltine crackers

1 pinch of ground black pepper

4 eggs, beaten

4 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

3 cups fresh green beans

Get your green beans ready ahead of time, especially if they are string beans.

Shape your ground meat into patties about four inches wide, the thickness of which you make patties for hamburgers, but not so that they will fall apart in your egg. Put the patties aside on a plate. Crush up your crackers in a separate bowl and beat the eggs. When you beat the eggs, be sure to use a separate bowl for them as well.

In a large skillet, which can be a Teflon or iron skillet, on medium heat, pour olive oil or vegetable oil in the pan. While the pan is getting hot, dip your patties in the egg quickly or they will fall apart, then into the cracker crumbs and then to your pan. Leave a little bit of space in between your patties and do not overfill your pan. Cook your patties for ten minutes on each side. Test to make sure that they are done in the middle because time may vary.

Now, in a large saucepan, pour six cups of water, salted and with a tablespoon of oil. Bring to a boil and then add your green beans. Cook them for ten minutes, but do not overcook them. Don’t be afraid to garnish those green beans with a little grated cheese or sauce for a little added pizazz!

Serves six, more or less.

Now, it does matter what you are cooking on. If you have a gas stove and oven, your heat can be more controlled, in my opinion, but cooking on an electric stove can be quite a bit different, in that, when you turn off the heat it does not subside to stop cooking for another ten minutes while it cools down. You need to keep this little fact in the back of your mind while you are thinking about cooking times. If you are using an electric device and you need your recipe to stop cooking, then remove it immediately to a cool burner. Many a dish has been ruined at the end just because they turned off the heat but the food cooked a little longer just so the coils of the stovetop could cool down. When you turn the heat off on the gas-powered stove, it stops cooking right away. Just saying. This little tidbit of information would have helped me out when I was younger. Maybe I wouldn’t have burned half of my meals!

Let’s not forget about condiments! Whether you’re serving burgers or gourmet, we need condiments as the spice of life for good eating. But choose healthy ones like onion, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and the like. Romaine is a good, solid, beautiful lettuce with nice lattice leaves, so it’s not only good for you but pretty. These things, however, should not be used to cover up the taste of your food, but to enhance the flavorful goodness of it. Ketchup is okay but not an overabundance of it. Most things, you only need a pat or a spot of. Try putting less on your food and see if the natural flavor has a chance to come through. I think you will be pleased.

**This article was also published on Vocal.media in Recipe.

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