Beef Broccoli

Sundays are always such a hectic day! To start, I always try to do all my baking for our lunches so we can feed on healthy, nutritious snacks at work. We always do our weekly grocery shop, all the cleaning and laundry. And our slo-pitch team practices on Sunday afternoons; these practices usually last 2 ½ - 3 ½ hours and leave us exhausted and sore. So when I walk in the door at 5:00/5:30 after a long day the last thing I want to do is cook a big dinner, sorry that’s the second last, the last thing I want to do is eat out. After such a busy day all I want is a hot, healthy meal that will nourish my body after the rigorous work-out it’s gotten. Enter my slow cooker.

In the past I’ve always felt my slow cooker to be the week day saviour; but I’ve never considered its potential to ease my weekends. I suppose I always felt that it was cheating on the weekends, when I “have all day off” (I use that term loosely) why would I use my slow cooker? But then ball season started. You see, I’ve been playing ball for years but I was always single before. I never had to consider what Sean was going to eat after a long practice; personally I’d be fine with a nice cheese, tomato, cucumber wrap with a salad on the side. But Sean has a much bigger appetite and needs a healthy dose of protein in all his meals. So I started looking at my slow cooker in a new way, a weekend way, and this lead me to trying these Beef Broccoli stir fry, original recipe here.

Beef Broccoli

This stir fry was so delicious! With tender, melt in your mouth beef; crunchy, juicy broccoli and toasty sesame seeds you’ll be going back for a second helping of this guilt-free deliciousness! You might want to make a double batch!

Time

 Prep Time: 10 minutes // Cook Time: 6 ½ - 8 ½ hours

Ingredients:

1.       1-2 lb boneless beef roast, sliced into ¼ inch strips (I used a chuck roast, but any cut will work)

2.       2 heads broccoli, cut into florets

3.       1 c beef broth (I used a bouillon cube dissolved in hot water)

4.       ½ c soy sauce

5.       1 TBSP sesame oil

6.       6 cloves garlic, minced

7.       1 TBSP chili garlic paste (I use the rooster brand)

8.       2 TBSP cornstarch

9.       4 tbsp white sesame seeds

Directions:

1.       Place strips of beef into slow cooker

2.       Mix beef broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and chili garlic paste in a small bowl and pour over the beef, mix lightly to coat all the meat and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours (I did 8 and it was marvelous)

3.       Mix cornstarch with 2 TBSP liquid from the cooker, add back into the mixture and stir well to combine

4.       Add the broccoli florets and mix well.

5.       Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes, the sauce will thicken and the broccoli will cook to perfection.

6.       Toast sesame seeds in a non-stick pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden (about 6-8 minutes)

7.       Serve over brown rice, with toasted sesame seeds to top.

   

   Emily.xo