Beef Broccoli Quick Stir

Fresh vegetables were a favorite of Grandma and she knew the less you cooked them, the better they maintained all those wonderful nutrients they contain. This recipe for Broccoli Beef is about as simple as it gets and another "stir fry in the skillet" that Grandma made. 

Four or five ingredients you probably have on your pantry shelf, purchase the rest fresh and you have yourself a healthy and tasty meal.

As an added bonus, this is another one of those wonderful  modifiable (is that a word?) recipes that enable you to accommodate your own particular taste. Add whatever veggies you enjoy! You could add in bok choy, bean sprouts, peppers, or whatever. I will say that with each vegetable you add, you may need to keep a close eye on the level of liquid as the beef cooks. It evaporates quickly, so perhaps a little more beef broth at the ready would be a good idea. If the mix in the skillet ended up too dry, you could add the broth in without diminishing the flavor. 

As a side dish we prepared--now don't be shocked--frozen pot stickers from Costco. No, this wasn't a Grandma dish, but something we thought would be a sensible companion to this meal. Grandma may have done the same thing! (Well, probably not because she would have made the pot stickers from scratch! I'm sorry, Grandma!)  Perhaps a rice dish or an egg drop soup could also be a good side for this. It comes down to the "theme" of the meal and what you have available or what your tastes would appreciate. 

Okay, I went off on a tangent there...back to the pot-stickers! To prepare we followed the package instructions (simmering them in vegetable oil and water for about 10 minutes) and then we took a "detour" and added them to the beef and veggie mix. The result? They turned out glorious because they absorbed that gingery flavor from the sauce we cooked the beef in.

Don't you just love cooking?! What other "art" enables you to be creative and have that creativity result in something that tastes glorious?  I love the arts in general, but I never walked out of the art museum or symphony hall feeling full!!  Maybe that's why Grandma enjoyed cooking so much. It really was a 5-sense experience!

Beef Broccoli Quick Stir

1 lb flank or sirloin steak, cut in strips (against the grain, or use whatever is on sale)

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can beef broth
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup carrot, thinly sliced
3 cups broccoli florets

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat and stir fry the beef together with the onions until beef is slightly pink, but browned on all sides (don't cook all the way through). Add beef broth, teriyaki sauce and ginger. Bring meat and sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer until meat is done, about 10-15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time add carrots and broccoli; cover skillet again and cook until veggies are bright in color.