Garlic Ginger Beef Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

Sometimes I find meat in the back crevices of the freezer and I am embarrassed to admit how long it's been stored. I'm some sort of a weird combination of bargain-hunter and food-hoarder. I find great deals, but then don't want to actually use it up. Ridiculous, right? 

Anyways, I found these lovely strip steaks, and knew they would need some fantastic flavor to overwrite their age. :) This sweet garlic-ginger stir fry was the perfect solution! This is a fast and easy dinner idea. The longest part is cooking the rice. 

Garlic Ginger Beef Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe 

recipe inspired by Rebecca on Tasty Kitchen

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 New York Strip steaks

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 - 1 inch piece candied ginger, finely chopped

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

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2 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups steamed broccoli 

Directions

Slice each steak into thin strips, working against the grain. 

In a large skillet add the canola oil and heat over medium. Once hot, add in garlic and ginger and cook 1-2 minutes. Arrange the beef slices in the pan and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle in brown sugar and soy sauce. Stir to coat the beef with the sugar. Cook another 5 minutes until sticky, like syrup. 

Serve beef atop brown rice and steamed broccoli. Add additional soy sauce if desired. 

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Creamy Broccoli, Chicken, and Penne Casserole Recipe

I was in need of a meal I could prepare in advance and have ready for our dinner at the end of my piano teaching hours. It was too late to start a crockpot meal. I don't normally go for casseroles, but when these ingredients popped into my brain, I knew I had a winner. This is quick and easy to throw together. It was amazing to come into the kitchen after teaching and find this meal ready to eat. Filling and nutritious, I recommend this to any family. 

Creamy Broccoli and Penne Casserole Recipe

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

4 chicken tenderloins
2 cups dry whole wheat penne pasta

1/2 cup milk
2 cups frozen broccoli

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 - 14 oz can cream of chicken soup

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions

In a 2 quart sauce pot boil water and add 2 cups pasta. Cook to al dente. 

Defrost chicken tenderloins and cook in the microwave. (I never cook meat in the microwave, but because this was being combined into a tasty casserole, it worked out just fine.) Chop chicken into small bite-sized pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large skillet, add a splash of milk and cook the broccoli and garlic. Stir in spinach, Italian seasoning, and chicken pieces. Then add in cream of chicken soup and milk. Drain pasta and add to the skillet, stirring to combine. Pour casserole into a deep dish 9 inch pie pan or a 9x9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

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Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo

I love being able to whisk together a creamy alfredo sauce in no time. Once you've mastered the skill of making a roux (combining equal parts flour and butter, whisking in liquid until thickened), you have got a serious skill under your belt. 

This dish was exactly what Kevin and I love about home cooked meals and my Italian heritage. Vegetables, pasta, and cream sauce--how could you go wrong??

Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

4 oz fettuccine noodles

1 cup frozen broccoli

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1-1/2 to 2 cups milk 

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Boil water in large sauce pan. Cook fettuccine noodles to al dente (10+ minutes).

Heat a 3 quart sauce pan to medium heat. Add in butter. Saute onions and garlic. Sprinkle in flour and whisk together. Mixture will be thick. Whisk in 1 cup milk until flour mixture is evenly combined and no lumps remain. Stir in another 1/2 cup milk. Turn heat down to medium-low. Stirring occasionally until it begins to thicken. If it becomes too thick, stir in extra milk and cook over low heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Simmer on low while pasta cooks. 

Cook frozen broccoli on stove top or in microwave according to package directions. When all ingredients are cooked, drain pasta and broccoli and stir into sauce. Serve. 

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Tuna Noodle Casserole

Growing up Tuna Noodle Casserole was a regular on the weekly dinner menu. It wasn't at the bottom of my list of favorite meals (that would be Goulash), but it certainly wasn't anywhere near the top 10 (which would include chili, pork chops & potatoes, taco salad, round steak casserole, etc.)

I'm not sure if it was the avocado-green casserole dish mom used to bake this meal in, or if I really didn't love tuna, but whatever my aversion--I'm so over it. I had a bit of a hankering for her classic dish, but without the recipe on hand I needed to improvise. I found a can a tuna (I really love tuna in my old age!), egg noodles (Kevin seems to have a thing for egg noodles), and cream of mushroom soup. I figured those were the key ingredients. Feeling adventurous, I pulled out red onions, garlic, and broccoli and the resulting meal was de-double-licious. Kevin and I both went back for seconds--a rarity for me! 

Think of your classic Tuna Noodle Casserole, take out the extreme amount of cheese (trust me on this, it'll be ok, I promise!), add funky herbs and vegetables, top with buttery crackers and VOILA--dinner is served! 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups egg noodles

1-1/2 cup frozen broccoli

1-5 oz can chunk light tuna in water, drained

1-14 oz can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 can water

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 onion, diced

1/2 cup zucchini, chopped

pinch of thyme

salt

pepper

8 butter (Ritz) crackers, crumbled

cooking spray

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325. Coat the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 

Using a 2 quart sauce pan, boil water and cook the egg noodles to al dente. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, microwave frozen broccoli according to packaged directions until stalks are crisp-tender. 

Drain cooked egg noodles, drain the broccoli and combine in the baking dish. Add in tuna, soup, water, garlic, onion, zucchini, thyme salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Distribute crushed crackers evenly across the top. Spray crumbs with cooking spray (this will aid the browning and crisping.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until thoroughly heated and zucchini is cooked to your liking. 

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Lemon Chicken

Annie has done it again. 

This woman is seriously on my same path of thought and inspiration. 

As soon as I opened her recipe blog yesterday I knew I had just discovered my evening meal plan. 

This lemon chicken is Oh! so easy. 

And amazingly delicious. 

I, too, paired the chicken with rice and broccoli. 

The frozen broccoli was steamed to perfection. 

And I used whole grain brown rice in conjuction with my handy dandy rice cooker and a sprinkle of garlic salt. 

How was it that I ever thought I wouldn't use the rice cooker when we received it for a wedding gift?!

You should make this. 

Sometime soon. 

Preferably before summer. 

And then again during summer. 

It's just the perfect flavorings for the seasons.

recipe adapted from: Annie's Eats. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp. lemon zest (I didn't have a lemon. So no zest for me.)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced (I used dried oregano instead)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
2-3 tbsp. melted butter
Thinly sliced lemons, for garnished, optional

Directions
Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and shake well to blend.  Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more.  Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up, reserving the leftover marinade.  Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

 

Vegetable Chili

This could also be called: "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Chili. (Or as Kevin says, "Stuff In A Pot.") No seriously. It all began when I looked in the fridge and saw the fresh broccoli. I didn't want it to go bad. I wanted to use it. And I wanted soup. But something fattening like cheesy broccoli soup wasn't cutting it for me. I was craving chili. Which happens frequently. Hmm. How could I incorporate broccoli into chili without making something disgusting. I searched for recipes for quite some time and came across a recipe on Betty Crocker.com called "Vegetable and Bean Chili." Most of the ingredients sounded just right, but not all of the veggie options sounded right to me.

So I adapted the recipe to my liking and as I was cooking I continued to find items in the fridge that went well and needed to be used up. Hence the 1/4 lb of ground beef (it was a leftover uncooked burger.) And the half a green pepper. (It needed to be used.) Both of those ingredients could either be eliminated altogether OR you could add up to 1 pound of ground beef and 1-2 whole green peppers.

Honestly, I would give this an A+. It's different enough from my traditional chili but similar enough that it's still chili. We both had two servings and will enjoy the leftovers. (As in, this recipe will serve 6 people or more.)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 lb ground beef

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

2 cups chopped broccoli, fresh or frozen

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed

1 can black beans, drained, rinsed

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 tablespoons chili powder

3 teaspoons ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon salt

pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

In large Dutch oven (5-6qt), heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are softened.

Stir in ground beef, carrot, broccoli and green pepper. Cover. Stir occasionally and cook until softened. Add remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chili is hot and vegetables are crisp-tender. (Optional: simmer up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally.)

Cheesy Potatoes and Broccoli

This dish could easily serve four people as a side dish or overly fill two people's plates for a main course. Kevin requested some sort of cheese and potatoes combination for dinner. I decided to get creative. The results were perfect. Exactly what I was tasting in my head.

Ingredients

1-2 Tbsp butter or margarine

1-2 Tbsp flour

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 to 1-1/2 c milk (skim works fine)

1/2 cup cheese (I used velveeta)

Salt

Pepper

2 medium or large potatoes, sliced thinly

1 cup broccoli florets (frozen)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a small sauce pan to medium. Add the butter and melt. Whisk in flour to create the roux (thickening agent useful in many soups and gravies). Add minced garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and softened. Whisk in milk. Stir until thickened. (You have just created a bechamel or white sauce.) Add more milk if mixture is too thick. Stir in grated or cubed cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and mixture is a desired consistency.

Coat an 8x8 cooking pan with nonstick spray. Place potatoes and broccoli in pan. Pour sauce over top. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

Baked Potato & Broccoli Soup

On Tuesday when I was feeling like crap thanks to a bout with some strain of influenza, my stomach was being really finicky, but I decided that some form of soup would be a perfect dinner.  I found this recipe at Annie's Eats  and boy am I ever glad I did! It was absolutely perfectly creamy and flavorful, but not at all overpowering.  Kevin doesn't like broccoli as much as I do but he really loved this soup as well.  It was simple to throw together--probably only took 15 minutes--which makes it all the more perfect!

 

Ingredients

¼ cup all-purpose flour (I substituted corn starch which worked well)

2 (14.5 oz) cans low sodium, fat-free chicken broth, divided

3 cups peeled, cubed potatoes (about 1.25 lbs)

2 cups broccoli florets, chopped (Using frozen broccoli was fine)

1 small onion, chopped

1 ¼ cups 2% reduced fat milk (I used skim)

1 (8 oz) block 2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping (optional)

chopped green onions for topping (optional)

Freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Whisk together flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth.

Combine remaining chicken broth, potatoes, broccoli and onion in a Dutch oven (or large saucepan). Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Stir in milk & 8 oz. of freshly shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Add salt & pepper to taste. Top each serving of soup with shredded cheese and green onions as desired.

**It is recommended to use fresh shredded cheese for creaminess and even melting.