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Mondays are hard.

And, as any teacher will tell you, full-moon Mondays are even harder.

Yesterday was a full-moon Monday.  Every class I saw – from kindergarten to fifth grade – was full-moon crazy.  Squirrelly.  Chatty.  Squirmy.  Loud.  Even the kids who never get in trouble were flat out crazier than road lizards.

So at the end of the day, I was exhausted.  Exhausted from “Stop that!” and “Don’t lick him!” and “Why are you eating that crayon?” and “Please keep your hands, feet, and words to yourself!” and “We do NOT put pencils up our noses!”  and “Who just threw something across the room?  Seriously!  I saw that!”

I was so happy to walk into the house and smell the wonderful smell that can only come from a crock pot that’s been cooking something yummy all day long.  I was even happier to sit down and eat this delicious dish!

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Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

  • 4 pounds of cube steak
  • 4 green bell peppers, cut into strips
  • 2 medium onions, sliced into rings and then halved
  • 2 packages of dry Italian dressing mix
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 cups of water

Place steak on the bottom of the crock pot.  Cover with vegetables.  Sprinkle dressing mix and salt on top.  Pour water over everything.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Well Duh #1:  I used venison steak for this because my wonderful daddy keeps our freezer well-stocked with deer meat!  He even tenderizes it for me!

Well Duh #2:  I served this over quinoa because I am the current reigning Quinoa Queen.  I added a teaspoon of beef bouillon powder and a little salt to the quinoa while it was cooking.  This would be AWESOME over rice and SPECTACULAR over mashed potatoes!!

Well Duh #3:  I actually cooked mine for 10 hours because that’s how my day was.  My steak cooked until it was falling apart – which was okay with me!  If you want your steak to hold together a little more, just be sure to stick to the 6-8 hours of cooking time.

It was great to sit down to a warm, hearty meal with awesome flavor.

By the looks of everybody, it was a tough Monday for the whole family.  Michael had spent a good portion of the day driving home from working a claim out of state – and still went to work out when he got home!   Elizabeth was just tired from school.  Christopher had school, followed by powerlifting practice.  I – well, you already know about my crazy full-moon Monday.

This meal was a great way to end a crazy day!

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