Two days until July – I’m so excited! Why? You may ask. Well, for the month of June my challenge to myself was to give up bread (tortillas and pasta included) and peanut butter. Mainly to see if I could do it, because these items are basically life staples, and to help me branch out into different food.

I did end up having to make some exceptions (I traveled a fair amount this month which makes it a lot harder to avoid bread, especially since I really don’t like to waste food unnecessarily) but overall it was a successful challenge. I am *super* looking forward to being able to use tortillas again for wraps, and to have peanut butter on a waffle, but it also helped me come up with some new favorites: quinoa bowls, baked sweet potatoes, and this broccoli beef dish.

Super easy since it’s made in the crock pot, this broccoli beef is just as good as takeout and not much more work. You could easily prep it all the night before and store it in the fridge (use a separate bowl, not your crock pot container), and dump it into the slow cooker in the morning. Add the final ingredients right when you get home, turn it to high, and you’ll have dinner ready to go within the hour while you unwind or do some chores or whatever else you need to do in the interim.

Amazing sauce, thinly sliced beef (or elk in my case), and veggies galore. Traditional broccoli beef is just that, broccoli and beef, but I like to add a bell pepper for extra veggies, extra flavor, and extra color. Although in full disclosure, I add bell peppers to basically all my entrees where it wouldn’t be weird. A double batch just fits in a 6-quart crock pot, so you can feed a crowd or put half in the freezer for another day.

Goes great with a side of rice, quinoa, noodles, zoodles, or just enjoy it solo. It reheats well and is just as delicious on day 5 as it is fresh from the cooker. And if you finish the meat and veggies before the sauce, it works great as a condiment for rice or quinoa bowls.

Note: I have a hunch you can add the corn starch slurry at the beginning, and assuming it’s cooked on high for at least one hour near the end it should thicken as expected. However I have not yet had time to test this theory. Once I do, I’ll update here.

Broccoli Beef

Adapted from Le Creme de la Crumb
Makes about 3 quarts

Ingredients

1 cup beef broth (or 1 bouillon cube + 1 cup boiling water)
1/3-1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1.5 lbs steak, slightly frozen

3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

1 lb broccoli
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

1. In a crock pot, whisk together broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and pepper flakes.
2. Thinly slice meat (this is easier if it’s still slightly frozen), and cut into 2″ pieces.
3. Gently add meat to crock pot.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours.
5. 1 hour before serving: Vigorously whisk or shake together corn starch and water. Stir into crock pot. Add broccoli and bell peppers, turn heat to high, and cook for another hour.
6. Serve solo or with rice, quinoa, pasta, or your favorite grain.
7. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Make a double batch if you like to have lots!