Beef with Broccoli

Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinade time: 1 hour
Cook time: 8 minutes

Marinade Ingredients:

• First, marinate the meat:
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into thin strips

Directions for marinating:

1. Whisk together the baking soda, sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, water, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Toss the steak with the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, then proceed below.

Cooking Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (Do not use regular. The final product will be way too salty)
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Tablespoon sherry
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 heads broccoli, crowns only

Directions for Cooking:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, flour and sherry until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large wok or saute pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Carefully add the remaining Tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve.

~Recipe from rainydaygal.com

Mongolian Beef (Copycat P.F. Chang's)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 pounds beef, cut into strips (suggestion: flank steak or stir fry beef strips)
• For the marinade:
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• For the sauce:
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons cold water + 1 1/2 Tbalespoons corn starch
• Optional: sliced green onions, sesame seeds.

Directions:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Pour into a zip-lock back with beef strips, seal and chill 1 hour or overnight.
2. Drain marinade from zip-lock and set beef aside.
3. In a medium sauce pan combine sauce ingredients. Stir and heat over medium high heat until brown sugar has dissolved. While sauce is cooking, whisk together corn starch and water in a small bowl until corn starch is dissolved. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and stir in corn starch-water mixture. Allow sauce to thicken slightly, then remove from heat. 
4. In a large pan or skillet pan or skillet, cook beef strips over medium high heat until cooked through (5-8 minutes) turning strips over throughout to ensure even cooking, reduce heat to medium. Add 1/2 - 1 cup sauce (depending on how "saucy" you want your beef). Stir and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
5. Serve over rice with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

*Note: This recipe makes a large batch of the sauce, more than you will need for your beef. You may half the recipe if you'd like, or we like to use the extra over rice.

~Recipe adapted from cremedelacrumb.com

Sesame and Mushroom Soba Noodles

Ingredients:

• 4-6 ounces soba noodles
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• splash of olive oil or vegetable oil for the pan
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (recommended: shiitake)
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons of mirin
• splash of rice vinegar
• splash of ponzu (optional)
• sriracha (optional)
• a few Tablespoons sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

1. Cook the soba noodles on salted boiling water for about 8-12 minutes, or until they're done but still al dente.
2. When soba noodles are done, rinse under cold water. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Toss the noodles with a tablespoon of sesame oil and chill the noodles in the fridge. The sesame oil will keep them from becoming gummy.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to wilt down. Add garlic, cabbage, half the scallions and soy sauce and cook for another few minutes. Add the mirin and cook until everything is soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
4. Toss the veggies with the soba noodles, a splash of rice vinegar and the rest of the scallions.
5. Taste and adjust seasonings with your choice(s) of ponzu, more soy sauce and/or sriracha.
6. Serve at room temp, or chill until ready to serve. Top with sesame seeds.
7. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a few days.

~recipe adapted from loveandlemons.com

Stir Fried Rice (or Rice Noodles)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice or rice noodles
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 head broccoli, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 portabello mushroom, chopped
• 1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
• 1 bunch bok choy, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• olive oil
• soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cook rice or rice noodles as package suggests and set aside.
2. Steam celery, carrots and broccoli to soften a bit (celery & carrots = 5-7 minutes, broccoli = 3-5 minutes).
3. Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat.
4. Add onions and cook until translucent
5. Add all of the veggies. Stir everything together, adding more oil if needed. 
6. Add garlic powder, ginger powder, crushed black pepper and soy sauce
7. Cook for about 7-10 minutes or until it is all cooked to your preference.
8. Add the rice or rice noodles and mix together well.
9. Push mixture to one half of the pan and crack eggs into the other half. Scramble the eggs until they are pretty much cooked, then introduce both sides of the pan together, mixing the eggs with the rice/veggie mixture.

*These are just a few veggie options, you can add any veggies you like! You can use peanut, sesame or coconut oil in place of the olive oil. And you can replace the soy sauce with liquid aminos, it taste the same and has a lot less sodium (as well as being gluten free). 

**Tip- Day old rice works really well in this recipe, as it doesn't stick together as much.

Recipe via Stephanie