Beef and Broccoli

photo by sara tady ©

This week we got crimini mushrooms, snap peas and broccolini in our produce delivery.  I figured this was a good opportunity to whip up some takeout worthy chinese.  I'm not a huge Chinese food fan- usually opting for Thai food any day.  I was, however, really surprised how good this turned out.  There's more than a few ingredients here, but they are all affordable! There's also more steps than I'm used to taking after a long day.  Nothing is difficult but be prepared for about 45 minutes start to finish.  Totally worth it.  Here's how you can do it too:

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati Rice (or regular white rice)
4 scallions- chopped
2 clove of garlic- chopped/grated
2 tbsp of fresh ginger- chopped/grated
2 tbsp of canola oil
2 handfuls of snap peas- end removed
About a cup of broccoli flourets/ broccolini
1 steak filet (or whatever you have)
A couple dashes of Soy sauce
1 tbsp of Sambal Oelek (can be found in the asian foods section for about $2)

Directions:
1. In a ziplock bag, place steak, half of the chopped garlic, half of the chopped ginger, a quarter of the scallions, a few dashes of soy sauce, and 1 tsp of Sambal Oelek.  Let marinate for 30 mins.....or however long it takes to prep everything else.  The longer this marinates, the better. Trust me, this is reaaallly tasty!
2. In a sauce pan, add 1 cup rice and 2 cups water. Bring to boil, then reduce with lid on until water is absorbed.
3. In a large skillet, add canola oil, the rest of the scallions, garlic and ginger. Let simmer on low-med. Add mushrooms.
4. Throw the steak on a hot grill, or grill pan.  I like my steak medium.  Adjust cooking times to your liking.  Let steak rest for about 5 minutes after taking off a hot grill.
5. Place broccoli and snap peas in a medium bowl.  Cover with water- microwave for 3-4 minutes. Strain and drop into the skillet with the scallions, garlic and ginger.
6. Add a couple dashes of soy sauce and a spoonful of Sambal Oelek.  Careful- this stuff is spicy.  Adjust as you see fit!
7. Serve over a big scoop of rice.

Roasted Broccoli Side Dish

photo by sara tady ©

Forget what you know about broccoli.  Especially if what you know is steamed broccoli.  Eeek. 

Roasting broccoli is SO simple, takes 7-8 minutes, and it tastes 100% better!  The good news is you probably have all the ingredients on hand. This is not your mother's broccoli :)

Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli
1 clove of garlic- chopped/grated
extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
red pepper flake
sesame seeds (optional)
salt/pepper

Directions:
1) pre heat oven to 400 degrees
2) cut the heads of broccoli loose from the stalk (trim from the stalk, not the head.  This keeps the florets in tact)
3) throw the broccoli on a baking sheet, add the garlic, salt, pepper, sprinkle on some red pepper flake, drizzle some evoo and use your hands to mix together.
4) pop it into the oven for about 7 minutes. Sprinkle on the sesame seed for the last minute or so.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Broccoli, Green Beans and Spinach

sara tady ©

We've all been there.  We went a little crazy at the farmer's market or the produce aisle.  Now we have vegetables that are withering away faster than we can eat them.  Here's my solution:  saute them together with a few special touches, and you've got a heart-healthy pasta dish that can be made a million different ways.

Ingredients:
Fresh green beans
Broccoli
Spinach
Rotini or Cavatappi pasta (a thicker noodle works best vs. a spaghetti type noodle)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parmasean or Ramano Cheese (that kind you keep in your refrigerator :) )
1 garlic clove

Directions:
step 1: bring water to a boil, add a liberal amount of salt, drop in pasta noodles
step 2: chop ends off of green beans
step 3: chop broccoli into bit sized pieces, eliminating stems
step 4: roughly run your knife through the spinach leaves
step 5: in a saute pan, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil around the pan- just enough to coat the bottom, low-medium heat
step 6: grate in about half a clove of garlic (don't own a grater? you can simply chop it)
step 7: drop spinach leaves into saute pan, let leaves wilt.  Salt and pepper. Keep heat low-medium as to not burn garlic
step 8: When pasta has about 5 minutes to go, drop broccoli and green beans in the same pot of boiling water for the remainder
step 9: strain pasta, broccoli and green beans
step 10: drop pasta, broccoli and green beans into the pan with the spinach, oil, and garlic. Mix.
step 11: mix in some parmasean/ramano cheese and serve!