Lovin' From the Oven

Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

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If you’ve been following me on my Instagram, then you probably know that I’ve been MIA on vacation for the past week. My DB and I went on a trip down to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I can’t tell you how nice it is to travel and not worry about flying standby. We didn’t want to get stuck in the heavy summer traveling, so we bought full fare tickets instead.

We even got updated for no reason. Twice. It was glorious.

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I had no idea that Punta Cana was so close to Miami. It’s only a two hour flight! It was our first time traveling to the Dominican Republic and although we had a very relaxing time, two-three nights would have been enough time there. Punta Cana is more of a “resort” style vacation, where you stay at the hotel 24:7 and everything that you need is within walking distance so you don’t have to go anywhere off the grounds.

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We stayed at The Reserve at Paradisus in Punta Cana. I have to commend the staff for being so friendly and taking great care of us, but we were bored after three nights. My DB and I like venturing out into cities and exploring ma and pa shops or hidden gems.

The food was unimpressive as well. I feel like they don’t really care for dessert over there. There was plenty of food to eat at every hour in the day, but it wasn’t good food. Maybe we’re just spoiled living in the states, where ethnic foods are not only delicious, but easily accessible.

The first meal that I came back and ate in California was Bun Bo Hue, a Vietnamese noodle soup dish that I found myself craving for the last two days of vacation.

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Don’t get me wrong– Punta Cana was beautiful. The sand was soft, the water was warm, and there were no sharp rocks walking into ocean, but I can only lounge for so long. We also got lucky with the weather and had clear skies for 95% of our trip, despite it being hurricane season.

I’m glad we had the chance to go there, but I don’t have the need to revisit anytime soon. To each their own, I guess. 11 days in Hawaii wasn’t enough for us, but 5 days in Punta Cana was plenty.

This recipe for beef and broccoli comes from BS Recipes. It was good, but a bit salty for my taste. Next time, I’d try using low sodium soy sauce and low sodium beef consomme. Also, this didn’t quite taste like normal beef and broccoli from Panda Express or your local fast food Chinese take out restaurant. It’s definitely a different flavor. Because I was expecting that taste, I was disappointed.

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Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
  • 1 cup beef consomme
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
  • Fresh broccoli florets (as many as desired)
  • Hot cooked rice

Directions

  1. Place beef in a crock pot.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the beef consomme, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef.
  3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  4. In a cup, stir cornstarch and sauce form the crock pot until smooth. Add back to the crock pot. Stir well to combine.
  5. Add broccoli and stir to combine.
  6. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on high (the sauce has to boil for it to thicken).
  7. Serve over hot cooked rice.
https://lovintheoven.com/crockpot-beef-and-broccoli/

Beef and Broccoli

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Do you know how difficult it is to make something when I’m living at my parents’ house for the summer? They don’t have flour, butter, chocolate chips, baking powder… Ever since I moved out, there’s no one home to bake so there’s no need for any of my kitchen basics. I can’t simply whip up a batch of cookies whenever I feel like it. I have to sit down, write down the ingredients, go grocery shopping, and then come back and bake.

That takes a lot of effort.

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Too much effort? Maybe. Especially when I know that I have all of the ingredients needed at my apartment up north, so why bother buying everything twice? I could just fly up north, bake, and fly the goodies back home.

Somehow, that seems like less work than going grocery shopping.

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If I felt like cooking at home, then that’s a different story. There’s everything I need to make dinner, but not dessert in this house. That’s why I’m giving you a recipe for beef and broccoli instead of breakfast scones.

Beef and broccoli seems like such a simple dish, yet I don’t know why I’ve never made it until now. This didn’t taste like the Panda Express’ beef and broccoli; It was more tame and less salty.

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Don’t skimp out on the ginger. It makes a difference! This recipe comes from Food.com.

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Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
  • 1/2 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 4 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 small onion, cut into wedges
  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • hot cooked rice

Directions

  1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth. Add beef and toss.
  2. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
  3. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
  4. Return beef to pan.
  5. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
  6. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
  7. Serve over rice.
https://lovintheoven.com/beef-and-broccoli/

Btw, I have to share how obsessed I am with my new rings. If you’re following me on Instagram, then you’re already aware of my fascination of delicate gold jewelry. My jewelry has to hold up in water and everyday wear and tear because I keep my jewelry on 24:7. I’m a low maintenance girl and I don’t have time to take off and put on rings ten times a day! These are perfect.

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All of these rings are available on We The Hatters and you can find these specific ones here: one. two. three.

 

Fried Cube Steak

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I feel like whenever the weather gets hotter, the less willpower I have to blog. My slowest blogging months are definitely June, July, and August. Maybe the sun just makes me lethargic. Maybe it’s because my DB doesn’t have to study, so we don’t frequent coffee shops for hours in the summer. Maybe because it’s just too darn hot to bake/cook in southern California.

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Did I just say southern California? You betcha. My DB got a summer job at a firm in downtown LA, so we’ve moved back for the next ten weeks. Well, he’s moved back. I’ll be going back and forth between the bay area and LA for work. It’ll be a hectic ten weeks, but it’ll be fun.

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Cube steak is pretty much the poor man’s steak. It’s cheap, tasty, and filling. What more do you need from a meal?

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This recipes comes from The Pioneer Woman. She seriously makes the best recipes. If I could live in someone’s shoes for a day, it’d be her. To live life on a ranch, to cook in a kitchen with every appliance available, and to have all that space? I wouldn’t mind leaving California for a bit to do that. Note that I said a bit, not forever. California is where my heart is.

This meal would go great with any starch side: baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes… Just make sure that you pat the steaks dry with paper towels to absorb all the excess oil. Also note that cube steak is a bit chewier than normal steak.

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Fried Cube Steak

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds Cube Steak (round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
  • 3 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper, Or To Taste Salt, For Seasoning Meat
  • 1/2 cup Canola Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Mix together flour, seasoned salt, and pepper in a large shallow plate.
  3. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper.
  4. Dunk both sides of each piece of meat into the flour mixture, until well coated.
  5. Add butter to pan right before frying. Once melted, add the meat and cook. Flip when sides are deep golden brown and cook about 1 minute on the other side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately.
https://lovintheoven.com/fried-cube-steak/

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