It is crunch time!  There are just 2 weeks until Christmas and so much left to do.  Eric travels a lot at this time of year and the kids are busy with school. Getting all the shopping, decorating, baking and wrapping done for a wonderful family Christmas falls to me. I am not complaining at all, I love all the preparations for Christmas! (It’s the undoing that I don’t like!) Doing it alone just takes more time than if we all did it together. So I streamline where I can. In my world, that means easy but interesting meals from the slow cooker!

I while back I talked about a frustration of mine with slow cooker meals; having to do part of the meal on the stove top either before or after the slow cooker part. This in one of those meals. But everyone loved the dish and the additional cooking part wasn’t a lot so this is a keeper recipe.

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli   (adapted from gettinskinnywithtweety)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips, fat removed
• 1 cup beef broth
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pound fresh or frozen broccoli florets
• 3/4 cup peanuts or cashews (optional)
• Hot cooked rice

Directions:
Place the beef in the crock pot. In a small bowl, combine the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour the sauce over the beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove 2 tablespoons of broth from the crock pot and set aside. Add the broccoli to the crock pot, stirring to combine. Cover the crock pot and cook for an additional 30 minutes on high. Turn off the crock pot.

Start off with the beef & all the sauce ingredients mixed together in the crock pot.

Add the cornstarch to the 2 tablespoons of cooled sauce, stirring until smooth. Drain the rest of the sauce from the crock pot into a small sauce pot. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce pot. Stir well to combine, bringing the sauce to a boil. Allow the sauce to boil for 1-3 minutes until it has slightly thickened. (Overcooking the sauce will cause it to become thin again.) Put the beef & broccoli into a serving bowl and pour the sauce over it, stirring to combine. Serve over rice and top with peanuts or cashews, if desired.

A new addition to my quick & easy repertoire!  ~Linda

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli   (adapted from gettinskinnywithtweety)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips, fat removed
• 1 cup beef broth
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pound fresh or frozen broccoli florets
• 3/4 cup peanuts or cashews (optional)
• Hot cooked rice

Directions

Place beef in a crock pot. In a small bowl, combine the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour the sauce over the beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove 2 tablespoons of sauce from the crock pot and set aside to cool. Add the broccoli to the crock pot, stirring to combine. Cover the crock pot and cook for an additional 30 minutes on high. Turn off the crock pot.

Add the cornstarch to the 2 tablespoons of sauce, stirring until smooth. Drain the rest of the sauce from the crock pot into a small sauce pot. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce pot. Stir well to combine, bringing the sauce to a boil. Allow the sauce to boil for 1-3 minutes until it has thickened.  (Overcooking the sauce will cause it to become thin again.) Put the beef & broccoli into a serving bowl and pour the sauce over it, stirring to combine. Serve over rice and top with peanuts or cashews, if desired.