Beef and Broccoli

I love Pinterest and pin a LOT of recipes to my board I call, recipes I want to make.   I thought I should start trying some of these recipes.  So, tonight I tried this beef and broccoli recipe and it's a keeper.  It made for an easy, tasty week night dinner.  The recipe comes from Jenny at Rainy Day Gal.  Check out Rainy Day Gal as she has a lot of great looking recipes.

Beef and Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour for marinade Cook Time: 8 minutes
First, marinate the meat:

• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into thin strips (slice across the grain) (I used only 1 lb)

1. Whisk together the baking soda, sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, water, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Toss the steak with the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, then proceed below.

• 1/2 c low-sodium soy sauce (Do NOT use regular. The final product will be way too salty)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sherry
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 heads broccoli, crowns only (I used about 5 cups broccoli)

1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, flour and sherry until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large wok or saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. Carefully add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve over rice.

Serves 4

Chuck Roast Chili

I found this recipe in the "Morton's The Cookbook".   I like that this recipe has tender chunks of beef instead of ground beef.  The texture and beefy flavor make this a keeper!

This recipe calls for 2 cups of chopped onions so I love to use my onion chopper.  The onions are chopped in a snap!

 My other shortcut is chopping the 9 cloves of garlic, I use my mini food processor.

Cutting the chuck roast takes time but it's worth it.

Serves 10 (Makes a ton, but recipe can easily be halved)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions

3 Tablespoon minced garlic (about 9 cloves)

3 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed some of the fat and silver skin, cut into bite-size pieces (this takes time but so worth it!  Don't worry about some fat just cut off large pieces of fat) (get a large enough roast so that when it's trimmed of it's fat you'll still have around 3 lbs)

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 Tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 

2 -14 1/2 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice (I used petite diced)

2 - 16-ounce cans spicy chili beans if you don't want it too spicy use mild or medium chili beans)

1 cups water
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

1 Tablespoons beef base (bases are available in supermarkets in the soup aisle)

1 bay leaves 

Salt (1/2 tsp)
Garnish:
shredded cheese
chopped onion
sour Cream

1.  In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften.
2.  Add the beef, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir for about 5 minutes as it begins to lose its pink color.  Add the chili powder, cumin, and pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to let the flavors develop.
3.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, beans and their juice, water, tomato sauce, and beef base.  Stir to mix well and then add the bay leaves.  Stir gently.
4.  Reduce the heat to low and let the chili simmer gently for about 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender.  Stir frequently so the chili does not stick to the bottom of the pot.  Adjust the heat up or down to maintain a slow simmer.
5.  Thin the chili with water, if necessary, and add salt to taste.   Remove the bay leaves and serve.  Serve with shredded cheese, chopped onion,  and sour cream.
6.  The chili can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month.  Reheat it gently, stirring frequently.

 With the leftovers, we added some extra cheese on top and had chili nachos (sour cream and guacamole on the side).  Let's just say, not one spoonful went to waste, it's that good.