Beef and Broccoli over Rice

Life is back into full summer swing. Working full-days with my kindergartens, helping out in the toddler room, melting for hours on end when I get home. 

Oh ya, my apartment is regularly hotter than the outdoor temperature. I can’t open my windows because I have them sealed off to keep the mud wasps out. I have an air conditioner, but I don’t run it all day so that I can cut back on hydro consumption. So, it’s hot. I pity the pig, who has no escape from my sweltering living room. 

 That’s Molly. She’s a hedgehog, but I call her piggy. You know, hog... pig... Anyways. 

When it’s so hot, turning on the oven is simply not an option, so this week’s cooking was done in the slow cooker. I love my slow cooker! This week’s recipe is based off the one found on Key Ingredient: Beef and Broccoli over Rice 

Ingredients: 

•  1 lb stewing beef 

• 1 375mL can beef broth 
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1 Tbs olive oil 
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder 
• 2 Tbs corn starch 
• Fresh broccoli florets – as much as you like, I used one stock 

Directions: 

I used my 3qt slow cooker, and it is the perfect size. Put the beef in the crock. In a bowl, mix beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, and garlic powder. Poor that liquid over the beef in the crock. 

 

Cook on low for 6 hours. 

After 6 hours, carefully remove about 3 Tbs of the liquid from the crock and put it in a bowl. Thoroughly mix the corn starch with the liquid in the bowl, then poor the liquid back into the crock. 

Add your broccoli florets to the crock, mix everything, and cook on high for 30 minutes to one hour (depending on how smooshy you like your broccoli). The liquid needs to boil in order for the corn starch to make it thicken, so remember to switch the heat to high! 

Pair this deliciousness with a rice of your choice. 

I’ve made this dish about four times, and it has tasted different every time. I’m not sure why. I must be changing ingredients depending on what I have in my kitchen. Or the fact that I don’t measure any of my ingredients. Hmm. Ok, I guess I know why it's different every time. 

The original recipe called for soy sauce rather than Worcestershire sauce, but I use the latter simply because my soy sauce bottle is fused closed with dried sauce, and I’m too lazy/cheap to get a new bottle. Worcestershire sauce is essentially just soy sauce with a few extra ingredients anyways, right??