Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry with whole grain rice

Last week my friend and I joined Weight Watchers.  She texted me one day and told me about a Weight Watchers recipe that was awesome so I thought I would give it a try.  As much as I believe in Weight Watchers, I don't always love their recipes or food.  This one, though, did not disappoint.  It was fantastic!

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
yields 4 servings
2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch, divided
1/4 tbsp salt
3/4lb lean sirloin beef, trimmed, thinly sliced against the grain
2 tsp canola oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
5 cups broccoli, florets (about 12oz bag)
1Tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water

Directions:  On a plate, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch and salt; add beef and toss to coat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick wok or large deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Add beef and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 4 minutes; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add 1/2 cup broth to same pan; stir to loosen any bits on food on bottom of pan.  Add broccoli; cover and cook, tossing occasionally and sprinkling with a tablespoon water if needed, until broccoli is almost crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Uncover pan and add ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a cup, stir together soy sauce, remaining 1/2 cup broth, remaining 1/2 tablespoon, cornstarch and water until blended; stir into pan.  Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer; simmer until lightly thickened about 1 minute.

Return beef and accumulated juices to pan; toss to coat.  Serve.  Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

Modifications:
-I also added 2 stalks of green onions and a few mushrooms.

Here's what you'll need:

If you are using fresh broccoli, cut up the broccoli.  Mince 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.  Trim and slice the beef.

I went ahead and added some green onions and mushrooms.

Put some cornstarch in a bowl and then toss and cover the beef.

Heat some canola oil in a wok or a pan.

Put the beef in the wok until lightly brown, around 4 minutes and then pull out and sit to the side.

Pour 1/2 cup of chicken stock in to the pan.  Stir the pan and get all of the leftover meat and crumbles.

Add the broccoli, cover for about 3 minutes until tender-crisp. (They will also turn a very bright green)

Uncover and add the ginger, garlic and any other veggies.

In a separate bowl or cup, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup chicken broth and about 1/2 Tablespoon cornstarch.

Mix and pour into the wok.  Let simmer and thicken just a couple of minutes.

I added some rice to the pan (see below for details) and then put the beef back in.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This was so good.  Like I said above, I am sometimes skeptical of making any type of "diet" food but we will definitely be having this again.

I served this with one of those whole grain rice-in-a-bag.  I boiled them separately and then threw them in the wok at the end when the beef went back in the wok.

You could do all type of variations and add a lot more veggies.  You could buy a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies, add grated carrots, or bean sprouts.

1 serving of the beef and broccoli (1 cup)=5 points

1/2 cup of the rice=4 points

Hope you enjoy!

April

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps found in First magazine

1 package frozen Asian veggie medley (no sodium, sugar or sauce added),
  thawed and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1lb lean ground chicken, cooked
1/2 cup bottled plum sauce
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup unsalted chopped cashews
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 whole leaves Boston or Bibb lettuce

Directions: Coat large skillet with oil spray. Saute veggie medley, garlic and ginger thoroughly. Stir in chicken, plum sauce, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add salt, pepper and chili paste, if desired. Heat through. Remove skillet from heat; stir in cashews and cilantro. Let cool 5 minutes. Fill each lettuce leaf with 1/2 cup chicken mixture.

Modifications:

-Apparently, I didn't take my own advice . . . I thought I had a head of garlic so I didn't buy any at the store this week.  When I went to make this dish I realized the garlic was bad so I substituted garlic salt/garlic powder.  Not a great substitute but it worked ok.

-Schnuck's did not have any Boston or Bibb lettuce so I had to use iceberg lettuce.  It tasted great but did not work as well as the others would have.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I minced up a handful of cilantro.  (Have I told you how much I LOVE fresh herbs????)

#2 I threw the ground chicken into a pan to brown.

#3 I cut off a piece of ginger and peeled it.

#4 I sprayed a wok down with spray and let it get really hot.  Then, I opened the bag of stir-fry vegetables and threw them in.

#5 I grated the piece of ginger.

#6 I sprinkled in the garlic salt/garlic powder.

#7 Next, came 1/4 cup plum sauce. (yummy)

#9 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

#10 2 Tbsp soy sauce

#11 The cooked chicken was added and I stirred everything together.

#12  Finally, the chopped cashews and cilantro were added and mixed together.

The Finished Product:

Review:

These lettuce wraps were really, really good!  They had great flavor, even though I wish I would have had "real" garlic, and they tasted authentic.

The lettuce was not crispy enough so Scott and I both just ended up cutting it up and making more of a Chicken Lettuce Wrap salad.  The vegetables were a little long so I cut those up, too.  I wish that I would have done a rough cut on them before putting them onto the lettuce but the taste results were the same.

The star of this dish was the cashews.  I wish that I would have used a full up of the cashews instead of the 1/4 cup.  They really brought out the flavor and added the extra crunch that the flimsy lettuce lacked.

I wouldn't say that this is a child-friendly dish, at least not my children, but it is defintily good!

Hope you enjoy!

April

Speedy Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tonight's meal basically came about just because I was ready for something different. I knew that Scott would really like this meal because he is always asking me to make stirfry.

--Speedy Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe: from BetterRecipes.com

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 red sweet pepper cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Rice or soba (buckwheat) noodles

Directions: Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet, add chicken, onion and pepper strips, and stir-fry about 5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Mix cornstarch, pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and tomato sauce in a small bowl; add to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens. Add chicken mixture back to pan; add pineapple chunks and heat through. Serve over rice or soba noodles.

Here's what I started with:



Here's how I did it:

#1 I sliced up a medium onion.



#2 I cut up a red pepper.



#3 I cut up 2 chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.



#4 I measured out all of the rest of the ingredients and put them into a separate small bowl. I measured out 1T of cornstarch.

#2 Drained a can of pineapples and put the juice in the bowl.

#3 1/2 cup of brown sugar

#4 1T of soy sauce

#5 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar

#6 1/2 cup of tomato sauce

#7 I heated a wok until it was steaming hot.

#8 I covered the bottom with 3-4T of olive oil and then I threw the chicken in.

#9 The peppers and onions went in with the chicken for about 5-6 minutes.

#10 The chicken, onions and pepper were pulled out and the sauce mixture went in.

#11 The sauce mixture cooked until it thickened up a bit and then the chicken, onions and peppers went back in.

#12 Finally, the pineapple chunks went into the wok and I let them cook for 5-6 minutes.

While all of this was going on, I also made some Uncle Ben's rice according to the directions on the box.

The Finished Product:

Review:

This dish provided a good alternative to other dishes we have had lately. I actually liked the pineapples chunks in there and I wasn't sure that I would. The sauce smelled so good while it was cooking and it had a really good flavor to it.

For me, I missed some spice to it. While the flavor was really good, I usually like it just a little bit spicer. I think I should have added a hot pepper or hot pepper flakes. Since the sauce had rice wine vinegar and brown sugar in it and then there were pineapple chunks in it, as well, it was just a little sweet for me. Scott, however, really liked it.

The one thing that I should have done differently was to keep the rice and the mixture separate. I just poured the whole mixture over the rice in one bowl and I think it made the rice a little soggy. Also, I think I should have let the sauce cook a little longer and thicken up just a bit more. I also would have cut the bell pepper up into 1/4 inch chunks instead of long strips.

Overall, this has been the best stirfry or Chinese type food that I have tried. I think that I will make it again but I will definitely give it a little spicy kick.