Beef and Broccoli

I love Pinterest and pin a LOT of recipes to my board I call, recipes I want to make.   I thought I should start trying some of these recipes.  So, tonight I tried this beef and broccoli recipe and it's a keeper.  It made for an easy, tasty week night dinner.  The recipe comes from Jenny at Rainy Day Gal.  Check out Rainy Day Gal as she has a lot of great looking recipes.

Beef and Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour for marinade Cook Time: 8 minutes
First, marinate the meat:

• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into thin strips (slice across the grain) (I used only 1 lb)

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.

• 1/2 c low-sodium soy sauce (Do NOT use regular. The final product will be way too salty)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sherry
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 heads broccoli, crowns only (I used about 5 cups broccoli)

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 the vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. 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 over rice.

Serves 4

Why I never thought to dip juicy clementines in chocolate, I will never know but now that I did it's my new favorite snack.  I came across the recipe on food network.  They sprinkle the chocolate with sea salt but I like them just plain chocolate.   They make a perfect snack or a quick dessert.  I used a container of Baker's Dipping  Dark Chocolate.  This container works great with left over chocolate, just pop on the plastic lid and refrigerate until you make these again.  The chocolate didn't stay in my fridge long as I made them a few times in one week.

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (non stick baking mat). Peel and segment clementines, set aside.  Be careful not to break the skin as the juice will seize the chocolate.  Gently melt chocolate in  the microwave.  Dip segments in chocolate and transfer to parchment-lined sheet. Once all pieces have been dipped, set the sheet aside until chocolate hardens (takes about an hour). To quickly harden chocolate, transfer baking sheet to the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature.