Stupidly Easy, Astoundingly Delicious, Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli

Do you know how you can tell when a dish is really good? When you're dining alone, hear embarrassing sounds of passion, and then realize those sounds are coming from you. Yep, this dish will do it to you.

This is the beef and broccoli to end all beef and broccoli. It easily rivals my favorite take-out place, but wins points hugely in that it is cost-effective, can be made at home, freezes beautifully, and tastes absolutely fantastic. I liked it so much that I bought another chuck roast, and plan on making it again next week. That is, if I can wait until next week, I may just make it again this weekend. Yes, it's that good.

Stupidly Easy, 

Astoundingly Delicious,

Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli

1-pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin slices*
1 cup low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon grated Melissa’s fresh organic ginger
1 head of fresh broccoli, broken into large florets
2 tablespoons cornstarch

In the crock of your slow cooker place beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, molasses, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger, and whisk together until thoroughly blended. Place your thin strips of beef on top of the liquid, and give it a stir so that the beef is well coated.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4-1/2 to 5 hours. At the end of this time, remove 1/4 cup of the juice to a small bowl, and whisk in the cornstarch. Return this mixture to the meat mixture and stir to combine. At this point you can dump in all of your broccoli, pressing it down with the back of a fork or spoon in an attempt to submerge it. Cook for 30 more minutes, during which time you can prepare the rice (Or put your feet up and have a glass of wine, your choice.). When the 30 minutes are up you can dig in. You'll thank me later.

*I decided to make this for dinner this morning, and my chuck roast was frozen. It was a 2-pound chuck roast, and I decided I was only going to use 1 pound, so I put in the microwave on defrost, let it defrost for a little bit (probably about four minutes on the defrost setting), cut it in half, put the other half back in the freezer, and then used a very sharp knife to cut the remaining half into thin strips. I find that when cutting beef into thin strips, no matter what cut of beef it is, that it helps to have it partially frozen. You can really control the size and shape of the strips that way, and it slices easily, and beautifully.

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What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

 Dishing It & Digging It

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  Amaze Me Monday

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Happiness is Homemade Monday

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Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Thanksgiving seems to open the season of eating lots of rich food. Don't get me wrong, I like rich food as much as the next guy, but once the season comes to an end I am more than ready for something simple like a slice of meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, a nice salad, or some Chinese food. To get you thinking about what you may want after the holidays during your focus on making the Thanksgiving meal, here is a simple, very delicious recipe for orange chicken made in the slow cooker.

Prior to trying this recipe I’d never had orange chicken before, so I really didn't know what to expect. My number two son and his wife buy the frozen orange chicken from Trader Joe's and really enjoy it, so I figured I would give this a try. If I didn't like it, I reasoned, I could always fob it off on them. :-) Fortunately I did like it, and thought I would pass it along to you. File this away in your folder for recipes that are quick, easy, and a relief from rich holiday food.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

3 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup orange marmalade (I used homemade)

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root 

Toss chicken with flour in slow cooker. Stir together remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Serve with rice.

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A Bouquet of Talent

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

For the past three months I've been trying to convince myself to order Chinese takeout. Mr. O-P and I had a favorite Chinese restaurant that was located not too far from the house. In order to get delivery, we had to have a minimum purchase of $20. That may not seem like a lot, but $20 is a lot of Chinese food.  The two of us could eat for three days on that food; my guess is that I’d probably have it until the end of the year, but I digress.

The other day I really had a hankering for Chinese food, and toyed with the idea of calling Green China for my favorite combination of carryout items, but it just seemed weird to be doing that on my own. I know, I know, I'll get over it, and move on, and soon I will have a refrigerator full of Chinese takeout containers. But for now, I think I'm going to have to content myself with just making Chinese food at home.

When I saw this recipe for beef and broccoli (coincidentally enough exactly the dish I was craving) that is also made in the crockpot, I figured, why not? Truth be told, instead of using the sirloin steak called for the recipe, I actually used a rather large filet mignon from the freezer. (As you may recall from this post, I'm trying to clean older items out of the freezer, in order to make room for something new.) The use of a filet in a dish like this may seem a bit extravagant, and perhaps it was, but I have quite a number of them in the freezer, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to eat all of them on my own. So I figured why not treat myself to a special dish this evening.

Whether I used the fillet or the sirloin, this dish was spectacular! I could not believe how easy it was to put together -- it almost seemed sinful -- and the aroma that wafted through the house while it was cooking was amazing. If you like Chinese food the way that I do, this is absolutely the recipe for you. I adapted it slightly by adding an entire onion that I sliced up and layered on top of the meat, and I thought this was just perfect. I may try this again and, instead calling it beef with broccoli, call it beef with vegetables and add thin strips of carrots in addition to the broccoli and onion as well as some water chestnuts and diagonally sliced pieces of celery. This recipe is a winner, no matter what you do. Highly recommended.

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

(Slightly adapted from Buzzfeed.com)

2 lbs sirloin steak or boneless beef chuck roast, sliced thin
1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 Tbsp. Water

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

In a medium bowl whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Pour mixture into the bottom of the crockpot.

Place slices of beef into the liquid and toss to coat. Layer sliced onion on top. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, whisk together cornstarch and water in small bowl. Pour into crockpot and stir to mix well. Add the broccoli, and gently stir to combine. Cover with lid and cook 30 minutes more to cook broccoli and thicken sauce.

Serve over warm white rice.

This post is linked to:

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday

Happiness is Homemade
Inspire Me Tuesday
Dishing it and Digging it
Amaze Me Monday
Cooking & Crafting with J&J

 Full Plate Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday
Thoughts of Home on Thursday
Weekend Linky Party
Grace at Home
Simple & Sweet Friday
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Share Your Cup
Wildly Original
Creative Ways Party
Share Your Style
Simple Saturday Blog Hop
A Bouquet of Talent

Won Ton Soup

Celebrating Chinese New Year with a hot, delicious bowl of Won Ton Soup, while studying the aftermath of an ice storm is easy-peasy when you have a son who makes wonderful Won Tons and shares them with you. 

No stranger to the kitchen or to making Chinese food, my son Andrew (creator of the world’s easiest Pork Fried Rice), supplied the most difficult part of this soup, his Beef and Pork Won Tons.  Once they are in hand, making the soup is as simple as bringing 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock to a boil, poaching the Won Tons until cooked through, then tossing in cleaned and split baby bok choy, chopped scallions to taste (2-3), and simmering for 5 more minutes.

Andrew likes his Won Tons deep fried with hot mustard and Sweet & Sour Sauce; I like mine in Won Ton Soup.  They freeze beautifully, so you'll have plenty of time to decide which way is your favorite.

Beef and Pork Won Tons

1 pound ground chuck, cooked and drained

1 pound pork sausage, cooked and drained

6 scallions, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts, rinsed, drained, 

and chopped fine

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon peanut oil

1- 8oz. can water chestnuts, chopped fine

1 small can mushrooms, chopped fine

1 package Melissa’s Won Ton Wrappers

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.  Put a tablespoon of mixture into the center of each won ton wrapper.  Dampen the edges of the wrapper with water by wetting your finger and running it around the edge.  Fold point-to-point to make a triangle, and then fold the two outer points into the center to meet, sealing together using more water, if necessary.

(If you have any leftover Won Ton wrappers, come back tomorrow for a recipe for a simple, tasty sweet treat.)

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sundays

Metamorphosis Monday

Marvelous Mondays

Inspire Me Tuesday

Andrew's Pork Fried Rice

My number two son tells me that one of the reasons that he enjoys the marinated pork tenderloin so much is having some left over to make fried rice.  Andrew, of the Cherry Limeade Bars, is no stranger to the kitchen.  When I found I had some slices of the pork remaining he shared his recipe with me in a brief email, and I have to agree that it is darned tasty and unbelievably easy to prepare.  Here is his recipe:

Andrew’s Pork Fried Rice

1-2 cups prepared rice

1/3 cup chopped onion, or scallions

1/2 cup cubed pork tenderloin

1 egg, beaten

Leftover Sauce from tenderloin (or equal amount of soy sauce)

Cook up enough rice for yourself, 1-2 cups.  Then chop up some onion or scallions and sauté with the cubed pork, until the onion is tender and the pork has browned.  Add a beaten egg, if desired, and allow to cook until set.  Then I toss in the rice, and add enough of the left over sauce as needed. Usually I start with 1-2 tablespoons then add more to taste. Heat and eat. Yum!

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Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Beef and Broccoli for Two

If you're anything like me, you occasionally get a hankering for Chinese food.  If you are even more like me, when it gets to around seven o'clock in the evening you're often too tired to go out for Chinese.  Here is a great recipe for two that cooks up in no time and tastes as close to restaurant-style beef and broccoli than any other that I've tried.  It's adapted from a recipe that I found on epicurious.com, but I like my version better.

Beef and Broccoli for Two

Marinade for Beef:
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound boneless sirloin, cut across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Sauce:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon medium-dry Sherry
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil

For rice:
1/3 cup Basmati rice, well rinsed
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
1 medium head broccoli, cut into flowerets

Prepare the beef:
In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, sugar, and the salt.  Add the beef, and let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce while the beef is marinating:
In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and stir in the Sherry, broth, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

Make the rice:
 Spray a medium-small saucepan with canola oil.  Put the rice, water, salt, and butter in the pan and place over high heat.  Bring to a boil and let the rice simmer until the level of water is equal to that of the rice.  Cover with lid and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20-25 minutes.  If you happen to find yourself cooking the beef mixture longer than the rice is to cook, simply turn the heat off and let it rest the in the pan while you prepare the remainder of the meal.  It will keep for another 30 minutes without any adverse effects.

Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until it is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, and heat it until it just begins to smoke. Stir-fry the beef in the oil in batches for 1 minute, or until it is no longer pink, and transfer it as it is cooked with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the wok, heat it until it is hot but not smoking, and in the oil stir-fry the gingerroot, the garlic, and the chili for 30 seconds, or until the mixture is fragrant. Add the broccoli and stir-fry the mixture for 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup water and steam the broccoli, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until it is crisp-tender. Stir the sauce, add it to the wok with the beef and any juices that have accumulated on the plate, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the beef is heated through. Transfer the mixture to a heated platter and serve it with the rice.

This post is linked to:

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Food on Friday
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Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday
I'm Lovin' It Friday