Dump Meals

Beef Freezer bag

Beef and Broccoli

dumpmeals.com/recipes/beef-and-broccoli/

Thin-sliced beef chuck in a soy, garlic and ginger sauce, with broccoli added at the end. Serve over rice.

Serves
6
Prep
20 minutes
Cook
Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours
Slow cooker
3-quart

Beef and broccoli is thin slices of beef in a savory brown sauce. In the slow cooker, thin strips of chuck stay tender because they cook gently in the soy and brown sugar sauce. Garlic and ginger give the sauce its flavor.

The broccoli is cooked separately in the microwave and stirred in at the end, so it stays tender and green. Cornstarch thickens the sauce into something you can spoon over rice.

Cutting the beef while it is partly frozen makes thin slices easier. Put the roast in the freezer for about 30 minutes first. Serve with steamed white rice and, if you like, a splash of soy sauce at the table.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 2 pounds beef chuck roast, sliced thin, about 1/4 inch, across the grain
  • ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Near the end

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 (12-ounce) bags frozen broccoli florets

To serve

  • hot cooked rice, for serving

Directions

  1. If your meat is frozen, thaw it completely in the refrigerator first. Never put frozen meat in the slow cooker.
  2. Lay the sliced beef in a 3-quart slow cooker.
  3. Whisk the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, garlic and ginger together. Pour over the beef. The liquid should come most of the way up the meat. If it doesn't, add a little more broth.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or on high 2 to 3 hours.
  5. Check the beef. It must read at least 145°F and be fork-tender.
  6. Stir the cornstarch and cold water together. Stir into the pot.
  7. Cover and cook on high 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli in the microwave as the bag directs. Stir it in and serve over rice.

It's done when the beef reads at least 145°F and is fork-tender. The broccoli is tender-crisp and the sauce coats a spoon. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Make it a freezer dump bag

Put the sliced beef, soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in one gallon freezer bag. Keep the broccoli and cornstarch for cook day. Squeeze out the air, seal, label and freeze flat.

Bag: gallon freezer bag. Keeps: 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F in the freezer.

Beef and Broccoli

Frozen on:

Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours, until no ice is left in the middle. Never cook it from frozen, and cook it within 2 days of thawing. Dump into a 3-quart slow cooker. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours. Check with a food thermometer that the beef reads at least 145°F and is fork-tender. Stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water and cook on high 20 to 30 minutes. Microwave two 12-ounce bags frozen broccoli and stir them in.

Best within 3 months of the date above.

Plan several bags at once with one shopping list and printable labels.

The planner prints this label free. A designed set for all 17 freezer recipes, plus blanks, is in the Freezer Bag Labels pack ($7).

Cooking for two

A half batch is too small to fill even a 2-quart slow cooker halfway, so make the full recipe. Put what you won't eat in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Freeze it without the broccoli.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Slice across the grain so the strips are not stringy.
  • Microwave the broccoli and stir it in at the end, rather than cooking it for hours in the pot, where it turns gray and mushy.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until they reach 165°F. Do not reheat them in the slow cooker.

Food-safety sources

More beef

  • Pepperoncini Pot Roast Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Chuck roast cut into pieces with pepperoncini, ranch seasoning, gravy mix and butter. The dish often called Mississippi pot roast.
  • Beef Stew Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Beef chuck cubes, carrots, potatoes and celery in a beef and tomato gravy. Peas go in at the end.
  • Italian Beef Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Chuck roast pieces in Italian dressing mix and broth, shredded for sandwiches with pickled pepper relish.
  • Beef and Bean Chili Low 6 to 8 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours Freezer bag Browned ground beef with kidney and pinto beans, tomatoes, peppers and chili powder. Uses canned beans only.