Quick & Easy Beef, Broccoli & Peppers Stir-Fry

I made this stir-fry using some leftover cube steak that I had cooked for a different recipe the night before, and that saved time when throwing this dinner together.

Another time-saver is to use already chopped broccoli florets (although I used part of a head of broccoli that was in my fridge).

Generally, the vegetable & beef amounts are pretty flexible so feel free to adjust to what you have on hand. And if you have a red or yellow bell pepper but no mini sweet peppers, then use half of the bell pepper instead.

If you don't have leftover cooked beef, simply use raw lean steak such as flank, sirloin or eye of round. Cut the meat into small chunks or strips and stir-fry in the oil at the start of the recipe, cooking to desired doneness and then removing from your wok or pan to cook the vegetables.

Ingredients
2 Tbs oil for stir-frying
6 to 8 oz cooked leftover steak, cut into chunks or strips
6 to 8 oz (2 to 2 1/2 cups) chopped broccoli
1 spring onion OR 2 to 4 green onions (including tops), sliced
3 mini sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange), seeded & cut into strips

Sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce*
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

*You can use regular soy sauce, but it's a bit too salty for my taste

For Sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a clean lidded jar (I use a Mason canning jar), close lid tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside.

For Stir-Fry: Heat oil in a wok or large, deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add broccoli and stir-fry for a few minutes until bright green and just tender. Unless you're using a large wok and can push the broccoli up the sides to remove from hot oil, go ahead and transfer the cooked broccoli from wok into a bowl before adding the onion and peppers to the wok or pan. Stir-fry the peppers and onions until just tender.  Add broccoli and cooked beef to wok or pan and stir-fry just for a minute or two to heat through. Shake jar with sauce to remix, then pour sauce into wok or pan over beef & vegetables and stir-fry until the sauce is thick and bubbly (this can take as little as two minutes). Remove from heat and serve over cooked rice or Asian noodles, or "as is" for a low-carb or "paleo" dinner. Makes 3 to 4 servings, or feeds two very hungry people with hearty appetites.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you want to add some spicy heat to this stir-fry, I recommend the following hot sauces, all of which are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store: The classic "Rooster" Sriracha sauce from Huy Fong (shown on left), A Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce, or the delightfully sweet & spicy Bee Sting "Thai Sting" Sweet Chili Sauce.