Budget Beef and Broccoli

Much like my Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry, semi-authentic beef and broccoli can be made with just a few pantry/freezer staples.  It's the sort of thing I can put together when I'm getting low on groceries or low on cash and need to shop frugally.  It can also be a great regular option in your meal planning since it takes just a few cheap ingredients and if you keep your pantry stocked, you'll have everything you need to have this dish ready in no time.  And if you think about what you pay for a pound of lean ground beef and a little less than a pound of fresh broccoli, you find yourself with a very inexpensive meal!

This is not an Earth-shattering revolution in cooking.  It's very simple. You can easily make this same recipe using more traditional thinly sliced flank or sirloin steak.  Both are fairly inexpensive cuts of beef.  But the difference is that generally you marinate that in garlic and soy sauce and dredge in flour or cornstarch.  I happen to like this recipe, still fairly simple (to me at least) and more like what you might expect in a restaurant.  The beauty of  my budget version, besides being cheap is it's basically a one-pot meal, it's relatively low calorie if you are using 75% or 80% lean ground beef, and broccoli is a great source of Vitamin C as well as a good source of Vitamin A.

Budget Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 generous tablespoon Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 Crowns of Broccoli (about 1/2 lb), chopped into fairly small pieces.
2 Cloves minced/crushed Garlic or 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Fresh Cracked Pepper (just use as little or as much as you like)

Sauce
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce (reduced sodium is best)
 1/4 cup Water or Beef Broth
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce (optional, but you really should just have a bottle if you do any Asian cooking)

Directions
In a wok or a heavy bottom skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Break off the ground beef in bits, no need to roll them into balls, just pinch off pieces and place on the pan, try not to let them touch. Let them sear for a few minutes, then add fresh garlic or garlic powder, then using a spatula, move things around to turn over the pieces of ground beef.  Add the broccoli and mix it all up.  If you have a lid for your pan, cover it or just grab a cookie sheet and cover it for a bit (like 3-4 minutes) so the broccoli can steam and get crisp/tender. 

In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together.  Uncover the pan, move the beef and broccoli to the outer edges of the pan and pour in the sauce in the middle of the pan, then using your spatula, start mixing everything around.  As the sauce heats and begins to boil, the cornstarch does its magic and creates a thicker, shiny sauce.  Mix thoroughly to coat everything.  If you want it saucier, just pour in another 1/4 cup of broth and mix it around.  If you didn't use broth, just add more water with a another 1/2 teaspoon each of soy sauce and oyster sauce.  Cover the pan for another couple minutes, then turn off the heat and let it rest for a couple more minutes then serve. 

Optional Sauce:  This dish is also excellent with a Japanese twist using teriyaki sauce instead.  And I love this simple homemade teriyaki sauce from Savory Sweet Life. When I do it this way, I add some broth or water with soy and oyster sauces into the pan as mentioned above, then right before the end, I pour in the teriyaki sauce and stir everything together to coat it.

Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Cooking hot and fast is the key with a stir fry.  This recipe should be considered merely a guideline for you to use whatever combination of vegetables you want.   This was inspired by my friend Kate at Savour Fare and her recipe, 10 Minute Thai Style Turkey.  It’s decidedly less fancy than Kate’s version, (but hers is simply delicious!) using ingredients you may already keep on hand, but it should serve as inspiration for your own personal creation.

Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
2-3 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 green onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini sliced and then cut into match stick size pieces (julienne)
1 carrot julienne sliced
½ lb French green beans (these are the thin kind, fresh or Trader Joe’s sells them frozen and they’re great)
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tbl fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbl hoisin  or teriyaki sauce (flavors are different, just use what you prefer)

Directions

A little fancier than you have to do using mushrooms, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers

In large skillet or wok, heat oils and crushed garlic over medium heat until fragrant.  Add turkey, thoroughly break up and cook until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.
Turn heat up slightly to medium-high, add vegetables and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey back, combine thoroughly, add onion and hoisin sauce, continue to stir to incorporate keeping heat up so a slight bit of carmelization occurs.  Add parsely and soy sauce, stir for one more minute and then serve with steamed brown rice with extra soy sauce on the side.

Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and Vegetable Stir Fry

This recipe is flexible and easy to make more than needed in order to have leftovers.  There is very little added fat.  It’s great to pack for lunch the next day or just make extra chicken for slicing and using in salad later in the week.  The sauté of vegetables is essentially a guideline; broccoli, zucchini and carrots are easy, usually accessible year round and inexpensive.  But you can use whatever veggies are seasonal and make you happy when you eat them.

Ingredients
4 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) or whatever chicken portion you prefer
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons honey
¼ c. balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to preferred taste. 
Prepare grill and be sure grates are oiled.
Heat the honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it becomes thin.  Add balsamic vinegar and let boil and reduce for 3-5 minutes.  Be careful, it can splatter while boiling; keep a close eye on it.  Remove from heat.

Place chicken on hot grill, grill for about 4 minutes until grill marks have formed, and then flip over.  Baste with glaze and grill for another 4 minutes.  Flip over and baste again, the flip one more time and apply more glaze.  Be sure they are cooked through, then remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.

Stir Fry

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Salt-free seasoning like Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 carrots, sliced thin
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 medium zucchini, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and garlic and heat stirring for 1 minute.    Add carrots and cook, stirring a few times for 2 minutes.  Add broccoli and zucchini, stir to combine and cover pan and let steam for 2 minutes.  Remove lid, add seasoning and continue to stir until vegetables are just beginning to wilt.  Add balsamic vinegar and stir to coat vegetables and begin to caramelize.  Remove from heat and serve.