Beef and Broccoli in the Crockpot

I finally got one freezer inventoried and must say that I am a little surprised by what I found and more so, what I did NOT find ... ground beef or boneless chicken breast. Huh.

I did find a 2 /14 lb beef chuck roast that is almost a year old ... so I tossed that in the shoebox (along with a package of bacon and a package of chicken breakfast sausage). I've been wanting to make a new recipe of Beef and Broccoli in the crock pot and this was P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for said project!  Wheee!!!

The original recipe comes from Table for Two ... if you've not been there, you so need to go check it out ... that's where the Yum Yum Chicken Thighs come from too ... it's definitely a site worth visiting!

So anyway.

It's Sunday ... and generally, I let Hubby make the dinner choice, BUT I want this for "leftovers" during the week for dinner so I'm making it TODAY!

I have everything on hand, thankfully, because I'm sort of thinking of doing a Pantry Challenge for November (well, up to the 21st when we fly out) and it's cold (yes, COLD, 51 this morning) outside so I don't want to leave the house either ... and I was so excited at the prospect of having a little Chinese fake-out this week! Sweet!

Here's how I did it and I strongly suggest you give this a try too!

2 - 2 1/2 pounds of boneless chuck roast (freezer)
1 bag of frozen broccoli (I used a one pound bag from freezer)
2 cups beef broth (pantry)
1 cup of soy sauce (recommend LOW sodium all the time) (pantry)
2/3 cup brown sugar (pantry)
2 tbs sesame oil (pantry)
Generous amount of granulated garlic (not salt!). I am appalled that we do not have any premade! Hubby needs to snap to come December!
Dash of red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you like it!)
4 tbs cornstarch
8 tbs of the sauce when done cooking

Mix broth, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder and red pepper flakes in the crock.

Slice the beef in thin strips and add to the sauce. Give a quick stir so that all the beef is covered.

Sorry for the large picture of raw beef, but I wanted to point out that you will need to trim some of 

the big chunks of fat off the beef when you are slicing!

Cover crock, turn on high and leave it alone for about 4 hours. After 4 hours, check the beef for doneness. It should be tender, but NOT shredded. If it's still tough, you will want to let it cook a little longer (30 minutes or so) before you proceed to the next steps! Just remember that there is about another hour worth of cooking to be done ;-)

Once the beef is cooked to desired taste/tenderness, measure out 8 or so tablespoons of the sauce into a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch. Try to be quick as you want the sauce to be hot. Pour this back into the beef mixture and stir well. Cover the crock and allow to cook for another 30 minutes on high.

After 30 minutes, add the broccoli (frozen), stir to coat, cover and allow to cook for another 30 minutes.

During the last 30 minutes, cook your rice, if you are serving so it's hot and ready when the beef and broccoli are.

Serve up and enjoy! I think this is way better than the take out stuff ... I'm sensitive to salt flavors and I can tell you this is so much yummier!

Go ahead, dig out the crock pot and give this a try! I think you will like it!

*I let mine cool off a little and then put in a glass Snapware dish, covered and put in the fridge for a premade dinner come Wednesday night! I'm so excited about being able to pull this out and reheat (on the stove in a pot) for dinner!

NOTE: Hubby liked this but said it was a little too sweet for his taste so I think next time, I will reduce the amount of brown sugar by 1/3 cup so it's only a half a cup.

Looking forward to sharing with some of these great parties ... make sure you check them out! Wonderful Wednesday, Hearth & Soul, Fluster Buster Creative Muster,  Show Me What Ya Got, What's Cooking Wednesday, Its a Party!, Works For Me Wednesday, Sugar and Spice, Wake Up Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Wednesday Whatsits, Real Fun, Work It Wednesday, Lovely Ladies, Weekly Creative, Domestic Superhero, All Things Thursday, The Weekly Creative, Together on Tuesday, Tasty Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Create It Thursday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Crafty Thursday Obsessions,  Showcase Your Talent, Think Tank Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Foodie Friday, Get Real Frugal Friday, Frugal Fridays, Food on Friday, Freakin Did It Friday, Feature Friday, The Pin Junkie, Freedom Friday, Friday Favorite, Foodie Friday, A peek into my paradise, Weekend Social, Foodie Friends Friday, Fun Friday blog hop, Celebrate It!,  Friday Favorites, TGIF BLOG HOP, Weekend Retreat, What’s Shakin, Weekend Wonders, Weekend Potluck, Get Him Feed Anything Goes, Dwell on Fridays, Friday Foodfight, Lil Luna Link Party, Foodie Friday, TGI Friday Friday with Friends, Friday Frenzie, Foodie Friends,  Simple Living Foodie Friday, Inspirations, Weekend Wander, Weekly Roundup, Feature Yourself Saturday, The Party Bunch, Show Off Saturday, I Gotta Create, Show Off Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, Sweet and Savory, The Weekend Creative, Weekend Potluck, Will Cook For Smiles, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Super Saturday Show & Tell, Say G'day Saturday, Not Bad Sunday, Potluck Party, Sunday Showcase,  Sundae Scoop, Super Sunday, Mop It Up Monday, Merry Monday, Creative Monday, The Scoop, Melt In Your Mouth Monday, Pin It Party,  Made By You Monday, Hunk of Meat Monday,  What’d You Do This Weekend, Marvelous Mess, Making It Cuter, Time To Sparkle, Mealtime Monday, Time To Sparkle, Makin You Crave Monday, Clever Chick, Creative Corner Blog Hop, Make Your Own Monday, Mix it Up Monday,  Save Money Monday, Lou Lou Girls, Inspire Me Monday, In and Out of the Kitchen, Memories, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesdays At Our Home, How To Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Making a Home, Show Me The Goods, Totally Tasty Tuesday, All My Bloggie Friends, Share Your Stuff Tuesday, Tuesday Talent Show, Fat Tuesday, Penny Pinching Party, The Gathering Spot, Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays